ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the overall change in UK carbon dioxide emissions has been since 1997, taking 1997 as a base figure of 100; and what the change in carbon dioxide emissions from (a) industry, (b) domestic sector, (c) transport, (d) road transport and (e) air transport have been since 1997, taking 1997 as a base figure of 100.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 1 March 2005
	The following table contains the rebased carbon dioxide emission from 1997 to 2002. The figures are based on the 2004 official inventory (UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory, 1990 to 2002") using new factors for Gas and Power Station Coal (Scenario 2 and 6) to be in line with the Review of the UK Climate Change Programme Consultation Paper". The total decrease in carbon dioxide from 1997 to 2002 is 1.1 per cent.
	
		
			  1997 2002 
		
		
			 (a) Industry(1) 100 102.6 
			 (b) Domestic sector 100 105.2 
			 (c) Transport(2) 100 98.8 
			 (d) Road transport 100 100.7 
			 (e) Air transport(3) 100 113.6 
			 (f) Other sources(4) 100 88.7 
			 Total 100 98.9 
		
	
	(1) Includes energy industries and industrial processes
	(2) Includes all domestic transport (incl. domestic aviation and domestic shipping only)
	(3) Domestic aviation only (excl. international aviation)
	(4) Includes businesses and land use change emissions (excl. landuse change removals)

Avian Flu

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what safeguards she has put in place to prevent the importation and spread of avian flu; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she has taken to ensure that imports of poultry from countries with known outbreaks of avian flu are safe; what inspections are made of foodstuffs imported from such countries; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: If there is an outbreak of disease in an exporting country, Community legislation allows member states to take appropriate emergency safeguard action, which may include a ban on imports of animal products from all, or parts, of that country, pending emergency action at Community level. Once Community measures are put in place the safeguard measures will reflect them. Safeguard measures are currently in place to ban or restrict imports of meat and other animal products of susceptible species in respect of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, including the Territory of Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and South Africa and Newcastle disease in Bulgaria
	All poultry meat and products derived from birds imported from third countries must be accompanied by veterinary certification. As laid down in Community law.
	All live birds, poultry meat and poultry meat products imported from third countries must be accompanied by a licence and/or veterinary certification. This confirms that the birds are not derived from an area where there has been an outbreak of avian influenza or Newcastle disease; it also confirms that live birds have not been vaccinated against Newcastle disease; show no clinical signs of disease and are fit to travel.
	Post imports of live poultry, or eggs once hatched, must be held in quarantine for six weeks in an approved establishment.
	All poultry meat and birds imported into the EU from third countries must enter at designated border inspection posts where they are subject to veterinary inspections. All consignments are subject to documentary and identity checks. At least 20 per cent. of consignments of animal products undergo physical checks, and a number of animals in each consignment are physically checked. These checks ensure import conditions are met.

Avian Flu

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of avian flu have been reported in the UK in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Since February 2004, five reports of suspected avian influenza have been notified to the State Veterinary Service. None were subsequently confirmed. The results of the UK survey for avian influenza in farmed poultry required by Commission Decision 2004/630/EC and carried out between August and December 2004 were all negative.
	Defra has produced risk assessments on avian influenza in other countries and these are available on the Defra website.
	The Diseases of Poultry (England) Order 2003 provides powers to control avian influenza and a contingency plan for avian influenza and Newcastle disease was laid before Parliament in March 2004 in line with provisions of the Animal Health Act of 1981 (as amended). The plan outlines Defra's objectives for disease control in terms of emergency preparedness, mobilisation of the response effort, and outbreak management. The contingency plan is currently being reviewed and is due to be laid before parliament in July this year.

Beef Market

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the withdrawal of (a) the over-30-month scheme and (b) other beef subsidies on the UK beef market.

Alun Michael: The information is as follows:
	(a) Defra commissioned a report from the MLC entitled Impact of OTM Exit on the UK Market" which is regularly updated as market conditions change. This describes the expected impact on the market of over-30-month cattle, cattle born after August 1996 when they return to the food chain after the OTM rule is replaced by a robust system of BSE testing.
	(b) Defra has commissioned a number of reports examining the impact of the change in the support arrangements for agricultural production as a result of CAP reform. These are collated on Defra's website. The impact on the UK beef production industry is covered in these reports.

Biofuels

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has commissioned on steps to encourage the production of biofuels and bioethanol to meet the EU biofuels directive of May 2003.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government are currently carrying out a feasibility study on the possible introduction of a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. In parallel, the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership are preparing advice for the Government on how a carbon certification scheme might operate. Cambridge University has been commissioned to review the economics of energy crops, including those used for biodiesel and bioethanol. In the light of these studies, the Government will consider the way forward for biofuels.

Cattle

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2005, Official Report, column 1653W, on bovine passports, if she will list the reasons for the successful appeals of the 8,196 bovines initially refused applications for passports.

Alun Michael: Cattle passports are issued by the British Cattle Movement Service which is part of the Rural Payments Agency.
	Successful appeals in respect of the 8,196 cattle initially refused passports can be broken down as follows:
	External circumstances outside the control of the farmer for example floods or industrial action—6 per cent.
	Exceptional personal circumstances for example the bereavement of a close relative—11 per cent.
	Exceptional postal delay—15 per cent.
	Actions of officials for example mistakes or removal of farm records during inspection—12 per cent.
	An illness or malady affecting the keeper which prevented the application being made on time—21 per cent.
	Other reasons—including problems with the use of home computers or unavoidable delays in obtaining ear tags from manufacturers—35 per cent.
	In all these cases, evidence of the exceptional circumstance was demonstrated.

Cattle

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will publish a Government strategy for the (a) control and (b) eradication of bovine TB from the British herd.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government Strategic Framework for the Sustainable Control of Bovine Tuberculosis in Great Britain" was published on 1 March.
	The strategic framework focuses on what is achievable in the control of bovine TB in a 10 year timeframe. Whilst eradication is desirable we believe it is not achievable in 10 years.

Cattle

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the first results are expected from the Bourne/Krebs triplet trials.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 31 January 2005, Official Report, column 575W to the hon. Member for North-West Leicestershire (Mr David Taylor).

Cattle

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her latest estimate is of the number of live cattle kept in the UK which were born (a) before and (b) after August 1996 which would be eligible for compensation payments under the over-30-month-scheme; and what records her Department has maintained of these cattle.

Alun Michael: At 24 February 2005 the Cattle Tracing System (CIS) database shows there to be 846,530 cattle alive that were born before 1 August 1996 and 3,166,935 cattle born after this date, all of which are potentially eligible for compensation under the over-30-month-scheme if they meet the scheme requirements.
	The CTS is a computer based system to register cattle in Great Britain. CTS records the:
	identification and death of cattle,
	movements from birth to death of cattle issued with passports from 28 September 1998, and
	movements of older cattle since 29 January 2001.

Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what policies her Department has in place for supporting employees with cancer.

Alun Michael: Support for employees with cancer is the same as support for employees with any long term (and possibly terminal) illness, through the following policies and services:
	Welfare Services provide individual support.
	Reduced working hours for medical reasons.
	Reasonable adjustments to the workplace.
	Special leave arrangements (including disability leave).
	Retirement on medical grounds.
	In each case the Department takes account of the wishes of the individual.

Committee on Radioactive Waste Management

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has received from the Chairperson of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) concerning (a) the suspension of Dr. Keith Baverstock from the Committee and (b) the current status of Professor David Ball on CoRWM; and if she will make a statement on progress made to date by CoRWM in meeting its planned timetable.

Elliot Morley: CoRWM's sponsoring Ministers in Defra and the devolved administrations have jointly commissioned a review with the terms of reference:
	To consider (i) concerns identified by Dr. Keith Baverstock concerning the operation of the CoRWM Committee and (ii) the role and personal contribution of Dr. Baverstock in delivering the corporate aims and objectives of CoRWM. To report the outcome of this review, and to provide recommendations to CoRWM's sponsoring Ministers".
	This follows receipt of representations from both the CoRWM Chair, Gordon MacKerron, and Dr. Keith Baverstock. Dr. Baverstock has been suspended from the Committee pending the outcome of this review.
	The review is being carried out by the independent assessor, approved by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA), who was involved in the CoRWM appointments process. The assessor will be considering the information provided by relevant parties in arriving at his recommendations to Ministers.
	Subsequent to the commissioning of this review, Professor David Ball informed Defra that he has voluntarily suspended himself from CoRWM's activities while the situation giving rise to Dr. Baverstock's suspension is resolved.
	In the meantime CoRWM's work continues unchanged from the programme set out in its First Annual Report 2004, available on its website—www.corwm.org.uk. This will lead to the Committee publishing its short list of options and proposed assessment methodology for public and stakeholder consultation during the course of March 2005.

Climate Change

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding was allocated to programmes dealing with (a) the risk of human-induced climate change, (b) assessment of the impact of climate change on the environment and (c) identification of mitigation and adaptation options for climate change since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Department's climate change science research programme analyses the risk of human-induced climate change, assesses its potential impacts, and means of adaptation and mitigation. The following table details this research programme's spend over the last three financial years.
	
		£
		
			   Financial year Cost of research assessing the risk of human-induced climate change Cost of research assessing the impact of climate change and identification of mitigation and adaptation options 
		
		
			 2002–03 9,780,160 3,143,938 
			 2003–04 10,484,174 3,562,397 
			 2004–05 11,732,070 3,947,992 
		
	
	Information for the financial year 1996–97 to 2001–02 is not available without disproportionate costs of retrieval. It is impossible to separate climate change impacts and adaptation research as these are complementary. An aggregate figure, therefore, describing research spend on both impacts (b) and adaptation/mitigation (c) has been presented. Data presented for the financial year 2004–05 are estimates of expected annual spend.

Climate Change

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list government-funded (a) organisations and (b) projects whose sole duty is (i) to analyse and (ii) to combat the effects of climate change in the UK; how much funding was allocated to each in 2004–05; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Information on all of the Government's spending on addressing the impacts of climate change is not held centrally—work to analyse these impacts and then to build in adaptation is rightfully carried out by many Departments in the course of their policy planning and implementation.
	The Department supports a broad climate change science research programme, which includes funding a number of organisations to undertake projects to assess the impacts of climate change in the UK, and potential adaptation responses. It is not possible to separate the funding into discrete categories of that which supports analysis of the impacts of climate change, and that which supports the investigation of adaptation responses to tackle these impacts, since in almost all cases, projects address both.
	The following table provides a breakdown of the relevant research projects, giving the project title, the organisation contracted to carry out the research, and the Department's allocated funding for this financial year, 2004–05.
	
		
			 Project Contractor Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Climate Prediction Programme Met Office 10,793,000 
			 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 2 Technical Support Unit Met Office 341,700 
			 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 2 Co-chair Parry Associates 46,875 
			 Stabilisation Scoping Study University of East Anglia 35,190 
			 Climate Impacts LINK Project Climate Research Unit (University of East Anglia) 98,006 
			 UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) 2002 Environmental Change Institute (University of Oxford) 644,812 
			 Climate Change and the Visitor Economy in England's Northwest Sustainability Northwest 70,000 
			 Review of the UK Climate Impacts Programme (2004) ESYS 39,972 
			 UK Cross-Regional Research Programme: Project A—Adaptation Responses To Climate Change for New Development in the Growth Areas Land Use Consultants 24,521 
			 UK Cross-Regional Research Programme: Project B—Climate Change and Business Risk Solutions 73,550 
			 UK Cross-Regional Research Programme: Project C—Climate Change and Water Resources HR Wallingford 29,108 
			 UK Cross-Regional Research Programme: Project D—Countryside and the Rural Economy Land Use Consultants 31,820 
			 UK Cross-Regional Research Programme: Project E—Costs of Impacts and Adaptation Metroeconomica 13,500 
			 UK Cross-Regional Research Programme: Project F—Linking Adaptation Research and Practice Tyndall Centre (University of East Anglia) 25,808 
			 Development of a Metamodel Tool for Regional Integrated Climate Change Management Cranfield University 165,000 
			 Publication of outputs arising from Agriculture—Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Programme and related programmes Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research 13,000 
			 Re-assessing Drought Risks for UK Crops Using UKCIP02 Climate Change Scenarios Rothamsted Research 18,000 
			 The development of a soil properties database for England and Wales for climate change impact studies Cranfield University 68,000 
			 Spatial Temporal Rainfall Modelling with Climate Change Scenarios University of London: Imperial College and University College 45,141 
			 Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change (MARCLIM) Marine Biological Association 10,000 
			 Assessing Climate Change Effects on Land Use and the Ecosystems (ACCELERATES) University of Oxford 4,831 
			 Climate Change And Migratory Species British Trust for Ornithology 41,700 
			 Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change: Assessing and Predicting the Influence of Climate on the Marine Environment Marine Biological Association 10,739 
			 The Impacts of Climate Change on Soil Functions National Soils Resources Institute 29,981 
			 Total  12,674,254 
		
	
	The implementation of adaptation actions falls to a wide range of organisations in both public and private sector.
	The figures provided here do not cover the Government's funding for organisations and projects that analyse the causes of climate change and contribute to its mitigation through reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

Cormorants

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the likely impact on the UK breeding population of cormorants of her Department's change of policy on cormorant control.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 24 February 2005
	Modelling by Defra's Central Science Laboratory (CSL) has examined the likely consequences of the new policy on winter cormorant numbers. The focus on winter numbers is appropriate since this coincides with the period when licensed shooting occurs; wintering counts are also recorded annually, unlike counts of breeding birds which are only conducted infrequently at the national level. CSL have explored the limits within which the licensing system may operate without risking the conservation status of the cormorant population. The aim has been to identify prudent upper limits for shooting and not to recommend levels of population reduction. To further safeguard the conservation of cormorants Defra will monitor the national winter population and if necessary reduce or stop the granting of licences should the population not respond in the manner predicted.

Cormorants

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of fish refuges in reducing predation by cormorants; and how much her Department has spent on research into the effectiveness of fish refuges in the last two years.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 24 February 2005
	Mr Bradshaw Defra's Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science is currently undertaking research into the use of fish refuges to reduce damage to inland fisheries by cormorants. Early results are encouraging and suggest that the technique has considerable potential for reducing fish losses at some sites, such as smaller stillwater coarse fisheries. Currently, fish refuges do not offer a solution for all fisheries. However, work is continuing to further evaluate the benefits of introducing refuges in a range of fisheries and to assess any effects of the refuge structures on anglers. Over the past two years this research has cost the Department £260k.

Cormorants

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many licences to control cormorants have been issued in each English county since 16 September 2004; and how many birds are permitted to be killed under each licence.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 24 February 2005
	Up until 9 February 2005 the Department granted 274 licences. The minimum number of birds which have been licenced to be killed is 1800. This equates to an average of almost seven birds per licence. The analysis of licences per county involves a disproportionate cost and has not been supplied.

Countryside Agency

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria she is using to determine the location of the new headquarters of the Countryside Agency; and whether premises in Cheltenham are under consideration.

Alun Michael: The Secretary of State announced in Rural Strategy 2004 that the 'new' Countryside Agency would in due course be located in a lagging" rural area. For these purposes, lagging" rural areas will be defined by reference to those local authority districts demonstrating poor economic performance in their rural economies, as set out in Annex B to Defra's Public Service Agreement 2004 (see www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/busplan/tn.pdf). As Rural Strategy 2004 sets out, poor economic performance is both affected by, and affects, social exclusion.
	The annex above lists the geography of poor economic performance in rural England as follows:
	
		
			 Region 1. Rural districts with consistently poor rural economic performance 2. Other urban or rural districts containing significant poor rural economic performance 
		
		
			 1.SE 1. Shepway 1. New Forest 
			  2. Isle of Wight 2. Wealden 
			  3. Swale — 
			  4. Dover — 
			  5. Rother — 
			
			 2.SW 1. Kerrier 1. West Somerset 
			  2. Penwith 2. West Dorset 
			  3. Carrick 3. Sedgemoor 
			  4. Caradon 4. Teignbridge 
			  5. Restormal — 
			  6. North Cornwall — 
			  7. Torridge — 
			  8.North Devon — 
			  9. West Devon — 
			  10. Forest of Dean — 
			
			 3.EoE 1. North Norfolk 1. Great Yarmouth 
			  2.Fenland 2. Peterborough 
			  3. Breckland 3. Forest Heath 
			  4. Tendring 4. Waveney 
			  5. Kings Lynn and West Norfolk — 
			
			 4.WM 1. Oswestry 1. Staffordshire Moorlands 
			  2. Herefordshire 2. North Warwickshire 
			  3. South Shropshire 3. Wychavon 
			  4. North Shropshire — 
			
			 5.EM 1. East Lindsay 1. Bassetlaw 
			  2. West Lindsay 2. Newark and Sherwood 
			  3. High Peak 3. Derbyshire Dales 
			  4. South Holland — 
			  5. Bolsover — 
			
			 6.NW 1. Copeland 1. Lancaster 
			  2. Allerdale 2. Carlisle 
			  3. Eden 3. Pendle 
			  4. West Lancashire 4. Crewe and Nantwich 
			  — 5. South Lakeland 
			  — 6. Ribble Valley 
			
			 7.YH 1. Scarborough 1. Craven 
			  2. East Riding 2. Barnsley 
			  3. North Lincolnshire 3. Wakefield 
			  — 4. Doncaster 
			  — 5. Harrogate 
			  — 6. Selby 
			  — 7. Hambleton 
			 8.NE 1. Sedgefield 1. Redcar and Cleveland 
			  2. Wear Valley 2. Tynedale 
			  3. Derwentside 3. Castle Morpeth 
			  4. Alnwick 4. Darlington 
			  5. Berwick — 
			  6. Teesdale — 
		
	
	We are looking forward to receiving proposals shortly from the agency, taking into account the Government's policy priorities set out in Rural Strategy 2004 and the objectives of the 'new' Countryside Agency, that will enable an early decision to be made on the new location.

Dairy Herds

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dairy herds had an average size of (a) less than 20, (b) 21to 40, (c) 41 to 60, (d) 61 to 80, (e) 81 to 100, (f) 101 to 120, (g) 120 to 140, (h) 141 to 160, (i) 161 to 180, (j) 181 to 200 and (k) more than 200 in (i) 1995, (ii) 2000 and (iii) the last year for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: The figures in the table show dairy herd and holding numbers in England by dairy cow size group in (i) 1995, (ii) 2000 and (iii) 2003. The dairy herd are all cows and heifers that have calved and including cows in calf, cows in milk and cull cows.
	
		Dairy cows in England by dairy cow size group in (i) 1995,(ii) 2000 and (iii) 2003
		
			  Holdings Dairy Cattle Average herd size 
		
		
			 (i) 1995
			 0:<20 2,963 27,021 9 
			 20:<40 4,033 121,984 30 
			 40:<60 4,868 237,568 49 
			 60:<80 3,972 273,603 69 
			 80:<100 2,993 265,273 89 
			 100:<120 2,029 219,785 108 
			 120:<140 1,319 169,267 128 
			 140:<160 875 129,718 148 
			 160:<180 526 88,528 168 
			 180:<200 334 62,912 188 
			 200 and over 766 213,623 279 
			 Total 24,678 1,809,282 73 
			 
			 (ii) 2000
			 0:<20 3,060 18,493 6 
			 20:<40 2,511 76,371 30 
			 40:<60 3,269 160,974 49 
			 60:<80 3,064 211,324 69 
			 80:<100 2,417 214,458 89 
			 100:<120 1,785 194,020 109 
			 120:<140 1,271 163,015 128 
			 140:<160 872 129,178 148 
			 160:<180 588 98,811 168 
			 180:<200 393 74,202 189 
			 200 and over 864 234,474 271 
			 Total 20,094 1,575,320 78 
			 
			 (iii) 2003
			 0:<20 2,404 17,073 7 
			 20:<40 1,739 65,185 37 
			 40:<60 2,505 137,125 55 
			 60:<80 2,333 173,823 75 
			 80:<100 1,836 172,989 94 
			 100:<120 1,411 159,952 113 
			 120:<140 1,089 143,971 132 
			 140:<160 807 122,970 152 
			 160:<180 546 94,068 172 
			 180:<200 393 75,669 192 
			 200 and over 964 271,902 282 
			 Total 16,027 1,434,727 90 
		
	
	Notes:
	(a) Figures prior to 2000 are for main holdings only, from 2000 onwards main and minor are included.
	A holding is defined as minor if it meets all of the following conditions:
	1. the total area is less than 6 hecatres
	2. the labour requirement is estimated to be less than 100 standard person-days
	3. there is no regular full-time farmer or worker
	4. the glasshouse area is less than 100 square metres
	5. the occupier does not farm another holding
	Source:
	June Agricultural Census

Deer

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of wild deer in the UK, broken down by breed.

Ben Bradshaw: The following are mid-1990s estimates of wild deer numbers in Britain by species 1 .
	
		
			 Species Number 
		
		
			 Red deer 360,000 
			 Roe deer 500,000 
			 Fallow deer 100,000 
			 Sika Deer 11,500 
			 Muntjac 40,000 
			 Chinese Water deer 480–650 
		
	
	1 From Harris S, Morris P, Wray S, and Yalden D. (1995) A review of British Mammals. JNCC, Peterborough. Quoted in Current and Future Deer Management Options," Defra December 2003.

Disability Discrimination Act

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the application of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to access to the countryside, with particular reference to the use of gates and stiles.

Alun Michael: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 ensures that private or public landowners, who are service providers", will be subject to the provisions of the Act. Service providers are required to take reasonable steps to remove, alter or provide a reasonable means of avoiding physical features.
	As far as rights of way are concerned, we believe that this will apply to features such as stiles and gates—which might act as barriers to disabled people accessing their services—since the provision and maintenance of these is the landowner's responsibility. However, it is not clear at this stage what reasonable steps" would mean in practice and this will probably only be established by case law.
	Section 69 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 provides for the Secretary of State to issue guidance on how the powers to authorise works are to be exercised. We plan to issue this guidance later this year and will consider using this opportunity to issue guidance on the application of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
	As regards access to open country under Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, we believe that landowners are unlikely to be service providers under the Disability Discrimination Act just because their land has been designated under this part of the Act. Landowners may become service providers if they voluntarily provide signs, gates, stiles or other infrastructure to support the right of access, but there is no case law in this area. If the courts decide that the Disability Discrimination Act does
	apply in these circumstances, then we would expect reasonable steps" to take account of factors like cost, land management, privacy and the level of demand from local disabled people

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee for the Adaptation to Technical and Scientific Progress of the Directive on Conservation of Wild Birds (ORNIS) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Committee for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the Directive on conservation of wild birds (the ORNIS Committee) met twice during the Irish and Dutch residencies on 18 March 2004 and 20 September 2004 in Brussels. The ORNIS Committee did not meet during the Italian presidency. UK representation on 18 March 2004 comprised one official from my Department together with a scientific adviser from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and on the 20 September 2004 an official from the Scottish Executive attended together with a scientific adviser from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Gambia) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Greenland) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Guinea) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Guinea Bissau) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Cape Verde) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(6)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Comoros) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(7)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Co(r)te d'Ivoire) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(8)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Estonia) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(9)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Angola) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(10)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Argentina) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(11)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch residency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EC-Russia) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(12)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Sao Tome" and Principe) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(13)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Senegal) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(14)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Seychelles) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(15)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Madagascar) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(16)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Morocco) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(17)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Mauritania) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(18)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EC-Poland) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(19)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch residency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC- Equatorial Guinea) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(20)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Mauritius) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(21)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Latvia) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;
	(22)  how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Lithuania) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement;

Ben Bradshaw: The UK did not attend any of the Joint Committees (except that for EU-Greenland) listed in these questions as we have no fishing interest in these waters. Records about these meetings are not held by my Department. The meetings of the EU/Greenland Joint Committee took place on 28 September 2004 and 1–2 February 2005. The discussions were about the operation of the Fourth EU/Greenland Protocol. The UK was represented by a Defra official.
	There are no bilateral fisheries agreements between Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Argentina and Morocco.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Oils and Fat met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Meetings of the Oils and Fats Management Committee were held on the following dates:
	
		
			 Presidency Date of meeting 
		
		
			 Italian 16 July 2003 
			  28 August 2003 
			  10 September 2003 
			  24 September 2003 
			  8 October 2003 
			  19 November 2003 
			  10 December 2003 
			   
			 Irish 21 January 2004 
			  19 February 2004 
			  24 March 2004 
			  15 April 2004 
			  27 May 2004 
			  1 June 2004 
			  25 June 2004 
			   
			 Dutch 23 July 2004 
			  26 August 2004 
			  15 September 2004 
			  29 September 2004 
			  20 October 2004 
			  12 November 2004 
			  10 December 2004 
		
	
	All meetings were held in Brussels and were attended by a Defra official.
	A series of Command Papers on developments in the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004, and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Natural Fibres met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The information is as follows.
	Italian presidency—July to December 2003
	The committee met on the 28 November 2003 when one UK expert attended.
	Irish presidency—January to June 2004
	The committee met on 24 March and 28 May 2004. On each occasion one UK expert attended.
	Dutch presidency—July to December 2004
	The committee met on 7 September when one UK expert attended, and on 30 November 2004, when two UK representatives attended.
	The meetings provide an opportunity to exchange market information and to discuss the regulation of natural fibres.
	A series of Command Papers on developments in the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Meetings of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Management Committee were held on the following dates:
	
		
			 Presidency Date of meeting 
		
		
			 Italian 3 July 2003 
			  22/23 July 2003 
			  4 September 2003 
			  16/17 September 2003 
			  14 October 2003 
			  12 November 2003 
			  15 December 2003 
			   
			 Irish 13 January 2004 
			  10 February 2004 
			  9 March 2004 
			  25 March 2004 
			  21 April 2004 
			  11 May 2004 
			  18 June 2004 
			   
			 Dutch 23 July 2004 
			  8 September 2004 
			  14 September 2004 
			  6 October 2004 
			  19 November 2004 
			  8 December 2004 
		
	
	All meetings were held in Brussels and were attended by Defra officials.
	A series of Command Papers on developments in the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004, and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Products Processed from Fruit and Vegetables met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Meetings of the Processed Fruit and Vegetables Management Committee were held on the following dates:
	
		
			 Presidency Dates of meetings 
		
		
			 Italian 22/23 July 2003 
			  16/17 September 2003 
			  14 October 2003 
			  12 November 2003 
			  1 5 December 2003 
			 Irish 13 January 2004 
			  10 February 2004 
			  9 March 2004 
			  21 April 2004 
			  11 May 2004 
			  27 May 2004 
			  18 June 2004 
			   
			 Dutch 23 July 2004 
			  8 September 2004 
			  14 September 2004 
			  6 October 2004 
			  19 November 2004 
			  8 December 2004 
		
	
	All meetings were held in Brussels and were attended by Defra officials.
	A series of Command Papers on developments in the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004, and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Wines met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Wine Management Committee met nine times during the Italian presidency, 10 times during the Irish presidency and six times during the Dutch presidency. The meetings took place on the following dates: 8 and 23 July 2003, 9 and 23 September 2003, 15 and 28 October 2003, 12 and 25 November 2003, 10 December 2003, 13–14 and 27 January 2004, 10 and 24 February 2004, 9 and 23 March 2004, 20 April 2004, 11 May 2004, 9 and 15 June 2004, 13 July 2004, 17 September 2004, 12 and 26 October 2004, 24 November 2004 and 16 December 2004. All meetings were held in Brussels.
	UK Government representation consisted of one Defra official for the majority of these meetings, although on several occasions, two Defra officials attended in view of the nature of the agenda items. In each case the representatives were from the Department's Food and Drink Industry Division.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Raw Tobacco met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Meetings of the Raw Tobacco Management Committee were held on the following dates:
	Irish presidency
	28 January 2004
	26 February 2004
	6 May 2004
	25 May 2004
	27 May 2004
	17 June 2004
	25 June 2004
	Dutch presidency
	29 July 2004
	22 September 2004
	27 October 2004
	30 November 2004
	The Raw Tobacco Management Committee did not meet during the Italian presidency.
	All meetings were held in Brussels and were attended by a Defra official.
	A series of Command Papers on developments in the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004, and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Hops met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Meetings of the Hops Management Committee were held on the following dates:
	
		
			 Presidency Date of meeting 
		
		
			 Italian 2 October 2003 
			 Irish No meeting 
			 Dutch 11 November 2004 
		
	
	All meetings were held in Brussels and were attended by Defra officials.
	A series of Command Papers on developments in the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004, and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Seeds met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Management Committee for the common organisation of the market in seeds did not meet during the Italian presidency. During the Irish and Dutch presidencies the Committee met in Brussels on the following dates, with UK representatives as noted:
	
		
			  Representative from: 
		
		
			 Irish Presidency  
			 28 January 2004 The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
			 Dutch Presidency  
			 29 September 2004 The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
		
	
	A series of Command Papers on prospects for the EU (Cm 6174 laid in April 2004, Cm 6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm 6450 laid in February 2005), which covers the periods of the above presidencies, is available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Live Plants and Floriculture Products met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: There were no meetings of the Management Committee for Live Plants and Floriculture Products during the period covered by the Italian, Irish and Dutch presidencies.
	A series of Command Papers on developments in the EU—Cm 174 laid in April 2004, Cm 6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm 6450 laid in February 2005, cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Bananas met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Meetings of the Bananas Management Committee were held on the following dates:
	
		
			 Presidency Date of meeting 
		
		
			 Italian 16 July 2003 
			  5 November 2003 
			   
			 Irish 11 February 2004 
			  26 February 2004 
			  1 April 2004 
			  6 April 2004 
			  11 May 2004 
			   
			 Dutch 17 June 2004 
			  25 June2004 
			  23 July 2004 
			  13 October 2004 
			  22 October 2004 
			  18 November 2004 
		
	
	All meetings were held in Brussels and were attended by Defra officials and on occasions a representative from the Rural Payments Agency .
	A series of Command Papers on developments in the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Implementation Committee for spirit drinks met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Spirit Drinks Implementation Committee (SDIC) met once during the Italian presidency, three times during the Irish presidency and twice during the Dutch presidency. The meetings took place on the following dates: 29 October 2003, 9 and 23 March 2004, 15 June 2004, 27 September 2004 and 24 November 2004. All meetings were held in Brussels.
	UK representation at all these meetings consisted of one Defra official, apart from that held in November 2004, when two Defra officials attended. In each case the representatives were from the Department's Food and Drink Industry Division.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Implementation Committee on aromatised wine-based drinks met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Aromatised Wine Implementation Committee meets very infrequently. There have been no meetings of the Committee since 2002.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the joint meetings of management and/or regulatory committees in the field of agriculture—agrimonetary questions met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The committees dealing with these issues met irregularly over the period specified.
	The meetings took place in Brussels and were attended by officials from Defra only.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the joint meetings of management and/or regulatory committees in the field of agriculture—trade mechanisms met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Meetings of the Directorate General (DG) Agri Trade Mechanisms Management Committee usually take place on a monthly basis in Brussels. The Committee met five times during each of the Italian, Irish and Dutch presidencies.
	During the Italian presidency, the committee met on 15 July, 16 September, 14 October, 11 November and 9 December 2003.
	During the Irish presidency, the committee met on 20 January, 17 February, 16 March, 20 April and 25 June 2004.
	During the Dutch presidency, the committee met on 20 July, 21 September, 19 October, 16 November and 14 December 2004.
	The United Kingdom's delegation to the DG Agri Trade Mechanisms Management Committee is led by officials from the Rural Payments Agency, with HM Customs in attendance depending on the agenda.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Standing Forestry Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Standing Forestry Committee met twice during the Italian presidency, on 1 July 2003 and 4 November 2003; it met four times during the Irish presidency, on 12 January 2004, 31 March 2004, 28 May 2004 and 22 June 2004; and it met twice during the Dutch presidency, on 28 September 2004 and 22 October 2004. All the meetings took place in Brussels and were attended by Forestry Commission officials.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund Committee and working party on irregularities met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund Committee and related working parties met on average about once a month during the lifetime of each presidency.
	All meetings were held in Brussels. The UK was represented by officials from Defra, and, depending on the agenda and their availability, officials from the UK Co-ordinating Body, the Treasury, the Devolved Administrations, and the Rural Payments Agency also attended some meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the committee on supply of agricultural products to the population of the former Soviet Union met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Department has no record of such a committee and is not aware that any such meetings have taken place.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Standing Committee on Propagating Material and Plants of Fruit Genera and Species met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Standing Committee on Propagating Material and Plants of Fruit Genera and Species met once during the Italian presidency on 14 October 2003; once during the Irish presidency on 2 April 2004; and once during the Dutch presidency on 18/19 October 2004. All the meetings took place in Brussels and were attended by an official from the Department's Plant Health Division and also, in the case of the meeting on 18/19 October 2004. a scientific adviser from the Central Science Laboratory.
	The mandate of the Committee is to consider and adopt measures to facilitate implementation of Council Directive 92/34/EEC on the marketing of fruit propagating material and fruit plants intended for fruit production. The UK's priorities are to secure arrangements which are proportionate and facilitate access to a wide range of healthy propagating material, and provide increased opportunities for UK trade while ensuring co-ordination with the parallel EU plant health regime. The Committee's agendas and meeting reports are available on the European Commission's website at http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/rc/scpfgs/index_en.h tml.
	A series of Command Papers on prospects for the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005. which cover the periods for the above presidencies are available on the FCO website at http://www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry met in Brussels on the following dates with UK representatives as noted:
	
		
			 Presidency UK representatives 
		
		
			 Italian  
			 2003  
			 24/25 July Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) 
			 22 September Defra, and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU 
			 25/26 September Defra (including the Central Science Laboratory) and the Forestry Commission 
			 15 October Defra 
			 27/28 October Defra 
			 11 November Forestry Commission 
			 26 November Defra 
			 15 December Defra 
			 Irish  
			 2004  
			 26/27 January Defra 
			 2 February Defra 
			 23 February Defra (including the Central Science Laboratory) and the Forestry Commission 
			 8/9 March Defra 
			 6/7 May Defra 
			 25 June Defra and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department 
			   
			 Dutch Presidency  
			 2004  
			 6 July Defra 
			 13/14 September Defra and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department 
			 21 October Defra 
			 12 November Defra 
			 16/17 November No UK representative 
		
	
	UK representation at these meetings depended upon the agenda for each meeting.
	A series of Command Papers on prospects for the EU (Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005), which covers the periods of the above presidencies, is available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee for Community protection of plant variety rights met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Standing Committee on Community Plant Variety Rights did not meet during the Italian and Irish presidencies. The Committee met once during the Dutch presidency on 24 November 2004 in Brussels and was attended by representatives from the Plant Variety Rights Office in my Department.
	A series of Command Papers on prospects for the EU (Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005), which covers the periods of the above presidencies, is available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what lessons have been learned from the deadline for the implementation of phase I of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in the UK for phase II.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 2 March 2005
	The directive specifies the dates by which National Allocation Plans in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) should be submitted to the European Commission, final allocation decisions should be made and the date by which allowances should be issued. For phase I these deadlines have proved extremely challenging to meet for all member states.
	One of the key lessons learned from phase I is with regard to the volume of analysis, negotiation and decision making required to develop a robust and effective NAP within a demanding timeframe. In light of this we have already started work on phase II in particular focussing on analytical work to inform the decision making process.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many member states have implemented Phase 1 of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 2 March 2005
	The Commission has approved 21 National Allocation Plans (NAPs) (eight on 7 July 2004, eight on 20 October 2004 and five on 27 December 2004). The Commission has yet to announce decisions on NAPs from Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Greece.
	To date only Denmark has begun spot trading, although the Netherlands are expected to start shortly. A number of member states have announced installation level allocations (e.g. Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia and Ireland) but are not yet in a position to issue allowances, either as a result of the registry not being approved or because a final allocation decision has not yet been made.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the European Commission to make a decision on the UK's application for an opt out from Phase 1 of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 2 March 2005
	We aim to make an application to the Commission for temporary exclusion from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for Climate Change Agreement participants before Easter, after operators have made their applications to Defra by 4 March. We do not know when the Commission will make a decision on the application, but there is no guarantee that they will approve it.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent developments there have been on the application to the European Commission for exemption from phase one of the Emissions Trading Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Installation level allocations for the National Allocation Plan were published on 14 February. Operators of Climate Change Agreements were asked to decide whether they wished to apply for temporary exclusion by 4 March. Defra aims to make an application to the Commission before Easter.

Fallen Stock Scheme

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what threshold has been set for the number of farmers who need to sign up to the Fallen Stock Scheme in order to make it viable; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In its business projections for the Scheme the National Fallen Stock Company estimated that it would need 40–50,000 members to ensure the Scheme was viable in the longer term. However, no threshold has been set and the number which would ensure viability may differ from this depending on how closely actual Scheme costs and income match those that had been projected.

Fallen Stock Scheme

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what safeguards she has put in place to ensure that contamination does not take place between farms when animals are transferred through the Fallen Stock Scheme; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what research she has conducted of the risks of bio-contamination occurring due to the Fallen Stock Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Animal By-Products legislation, which applies equally to fallen stock collected outside and inside the Scheme, already controls the collection, storage and transportation of animal by-products, including animal carcases. It also requires records to be kept of any consignment of animal by-products to assist in the auditing and traceability of this material. General guidance on biosecurity is also available on the Defra website.
	Although no formal assessment has been made of the biosecurity risks of the National Fallen Stock Scheme, Scheme rules require that fallen stock are collected and disposed of according to strict biosecurity guidelines and is available on the Defra website. The National Fallen Stock Company has engaged the State Veterinary Service to inspect collection premises and vehicles to ensure compliance with these rules.

Farm Income

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total estimated income for the farming industry was in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: Information on total income from farming for the years 1995 to 2004 is given in the following table:
	
		Total income from farming (real terms at 2004 prices)
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1995 6,599 
			 1996 5,962 
			 1997 3,508 
			 1998 2,432 
			 1999 2,424 
			 2000 1,805 
			 2001 2,037 
			 2002 2,521 
			 2003 3,281 
			 2004 3,014 
		
	
	Total income from farming is income generated by production within the agriculture industry, including subsidies. It represents business profits plus remuneration for work done by owners and other unpaid workers.

Fisheries

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in which other EU member states the fishing industries are subject to full cost recovery for their management costs; how many have partial cost recovery; and how many do not charge their industries management costs.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not hold information on all other EU member states in relation to cost recovery for fisheries management. However, we are making enquiries in order to complete the information and will respond in writing once we have the complete picture.

Fisheries

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about the withdrawal of designated port status for haddock landings from Warkworth Harbour, Amble, Northumberland; and if she will reconsider the decision.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 1 March 2005
	The Fisheries Department has received three representations regarding the withdrawal of designated port status for haddock landings from Warkworth Harbour, Amble, Northumberland.
	The purpose of designating ports is to assist Defra inspectors in the monitoring of landings of fish. Amble was designated in 2004 following the introduction of the haddock permit scheme which made it compulsory for vessels with haddock permits to land into designated ports. It was made clear at the time that designation would only remain while the haddock permit scheme remained. The scheme has now ended.
	Under current rules, landing into a designated port is not compulsory except for vessels with more than two tonnes of cod on board. Vessels landing into Amble do not normally catch such quantities and they are therefore free to continue landing there, subject to requirements for advance notification in certain circumstances. I therefore do not propose to reconsider the decision.

Fisheries

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what proportion of the management costs of the UK fishing industry was borne (a) by her Department and (b) by the industry in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what proportion of the management costs of the UK fishing industry was borne by her Department in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The costs of the Fisheries Directorate within the Department was £53 million in financial year 2003–04. This included expenditure on enforcement, regulation, quota management, licensing, European negotiation, research and policy development. All of these activities contribute to management of the industry. Devolved administrations bear their own costs.
	The industry bears the cost of Producer Organisations (PO) which play a part in quota management. The Department does not have information on the sums involved.

Fisheries

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by (a) her Department and (b) departmental sponsored bodies on research into aquaculture and fish farming at sea in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra spent £1,907,488 on aquaculture related research including fish health and welfare in 2004–05. The Sea Fish Industry Authority have allocated £190,000 to fund aquaculture research and development projects in 2004–05. They also contribute about £150,000 to the research work of the Scottish Association of Marine Science in 2004–05.

FOI Requests

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions when her officials have been processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 it has been necessary to extend the statutory 20 working day limit for response due to the need to assess whether the public interest in disclosing the information requested outweighed the public interest in witholding the information requested.

Alun Michael: It must be remembered that officials are dealing within an entirely new set of requirements and we expect these processes to be much easier to follow once they are bedded in. To date our central tracking system records that there have been a total of 14 requests for information where a reply has had to be extended past the statutory 20 working day limit due to the need to apply the Public Interest Test. Of these requests nine were under the Freedom of Information Act and five were under the new Environmental Information Regulations.

Foot and Mouth

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her contingency plans are for dealing with a future foot and mouth epidemic.

Ben Bradshaw: The measures that the Government would take in the event of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease are set out in the Defra FMD Contingency Plan, the latest version of which was laid before Parliament at the end of March 2004. These include the immediate imposition of movement controls on all susceptible livestock, strict bio-security requirements and enhanced options for controlling the disease. Vaccination would be considered from the outset of an outbreak in addition to the culling of all susceptible animals on infected premises and those that have been exposed to infection, as required by EU law.
	We are engaging with operational partners and with stakeholders to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and the measures that would be taken in an outbreak. Plans are also in place in the event of an outbreak to enable a rapid increase in resources and for the implementation of contingency contracts, including that for emergency vaccination. We have revised the instructions for staff and are ensuring that they are trained and equipped to deal with an outbreak of disease. A revised version of the contingency plan, incorporating the lessons learned from the national foot and mouth disease exercise held last June, will be issued for public consultation shortly.

Foot and Mouth

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has evaluated on whether wild birds can spread the foot and mouth virus, with particular reference to geese.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department commissioned and published a risk assessment to consider the risks of importation of contaminated meat and meat products and the subsequent exposure of GB livestock. Several viral pathogens were included in this work, among them Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
	As part of this work the risk of transfer and spread of contaminated material, by scavengers (including wild birds), from an infected site to livestock holdings was considered.
	Foot and mouth disease virus has been recovered from the plumage and feet of birds in contact with affected livestock, however, there is a lack of evidence that birds play a significant role in the spread of the disease. In those cases where wild geese were possibly implicated in 2001 UK outbreak of FMD, other more likely sources were usually found.

Greenhouse Gases

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the levels of greenhouse gases emitted by the UK were in each of the last 10 years; and what levels were emitted during that period by other EU countries.

Elliot Morley: The following table contains the most recent greenhouse gas emissions estimates, in million tonnes of carbon equivalent per year, for each of the EU-15 countries and for the ED-15 collectively from the European Environment Agency.
	
		
			 Member state 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 
		
		
			 Austria 21.27 22.36 20.45 20.45 20.73 21.55 22.64 
			 Belgium 39.82 40.64 40.36 40.09 41.45 42.27 43.36 
			 Denmark 18.82 21.55 19.91 20.73 21.82 21.00 24.55 
			 Finland 21.00 20.45 19.64 19.64 21.55 20.73 22.36 
			 France 154.09 160.64 157.91 151.64 150.55 152.73 157.09 
			 Germany 340.64 326.18 312.55 308.45 302.18 300.27 305.18 
			 Greece 28.64 28.64 28.91 29.18 29.73 30.00 31.09 
			 Ireland 14.45 14.73 15.00 15.00 15.55 15.82 16.09 
			 Italy 138.82 139.36 138.00 136.36 134.45 143.18 141.00 
			 Luxemburg 3.55 3.55 3.55 3.55 3.55 2.73 2.73 
			 Netherlands 57.55 59.45 59.45 60.27 60.55 61.36 63.82 
			 Portugal 15.82 16.36 17.45 16.91 17.18 18.27 17.73 
			 Spain 77.73 79.36 81.82 78.82 82.91 86.18 84.55 
			 Sweden 19.64 19.64 19.64 19.64 20.45 20.18 21.00 
			 United Kingdom 202.64 202.91 196.64 191.18 189.82 187.09 193.09 
			 EU-15 1,153.91 1,156.09 1,131.00 1,111.64 1,112.45 1,123.36 1,146.27 
		
	
	
		
			 Member state 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Austria 22.36 22.36 21.82 22.09 22.91 23.18 
			 Belgium 40.91 42.27 40.36 40.91 40.64 40.91 
			 Denmark 22.09 20.73 19.91 18.55 18.82 18.55 
			 Finland 22.09 21.27 21.00 20.45 22.09 22.36 
			 France 154.91 159.00 153.82 152.18 153.27 151.09 
			 Germany 295.09 288.00 278.18 277.09 280.09 277.09 
			 Greece 32.73 33.82 33.82 35.45 36.82 36.82 
			 Ireland 16.91 17.45 18.00 18.55 19.09 18.82 
			 Italy 142.64 145.91 147.27 148.36 151.09 151.09 
			 Luxemburg 2.45 2.18 2.45 2.73 2.73 3.00 
			 Netherlands 59.45 61.09 58.09 58.09 58.91 58.36 
			 Portugal 18.55 19.64 21.82 21.27 21.27 22.36 
			 Spain 90.27 93.00 100.91 105.00 104.45 109.09 
			 Sweden 19.91 19.91 19.09 ' 18.55 18.55 19.09 
			 United Kingdom 186.55 185.18 176.73 176.73 178.91 173.18 
			 EU-15 1,126.91 1,131.82 1,113.27 1,116.00 1,129.64 1,125.00 
		
	
	The data, expressed as million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent per year, are published in the Annual European Community greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2002 and inventory report 2004", which is available from the European Environment Agency (http://www.eea.eu.int/main html).
	The estimates differ a little from those published in the Consultation Paper for the Review of the Climate Change Programme because the latter contain estimates for emissions due from land use change, which are not included in the comparative data from the European Environment Agency, and because of revisions to the emission factors for coal used in power stations and for natural gas, as described in the Consultation Paper.

Marine Protection

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action her Department is taking to protect coral reefs and sea-mounts in UK territorial waters.

Ben Bradshaw: Reefs are included in annex I of the EC Habitats Directive and the UK has designated 33 Natura sites in territorial waters under article 4 of the directive which have reefs listed as a feature of interest. These are biogenic and rocky reefs rather than coral reefs given available data on the nature and distribution of reefs in UK territorial waters. However, the UK's statutory nature advisers will be investigating whether there are further occurrences of marine habitats listed in annex I that meet the criteria in annex III of the directive as part of a wider exercise in which EC member states are working with the European Commission to extend the Habitats Directive into the marine environment.
	In 1999 a habitat action plan for Lophelia pertusa reefs was published as part of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP). The objectives of the action plan are to protect the distribution and status of the Lophelia pertusa reefs to enhance their density and community richness.
	The UK is also working through OSPAR's Biodiversity Committee to identify species (and habitats) in need of protection. Lophelia pertusa reefs have been classified as a priority habitat, OSPAR is currently investigating possible management measures.
	There are no known occurrences of seamounts in UK territorial waters.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will answer the question from the hon. Member for Portsmouth South, ref 200297.

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 February 2005, Official Report, column 1660W.

Parliamentary Questions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the projects being undertaken by her Department in respect of which information cannot be given in answer to parliamentary questions as a result of commercial confidentiality.

Alun Michael: Requests for information on projects currently being undertaken by the Department would be considered on their merits in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act governing disclosure or exemption(s) from disclosure.

Single Farm Payments

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to assist farmers with cashflow difficulties arising from switching from IACS to Single Farm Payments; and if she will make interim payments to them.

Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency has announced that payments are planned to start from February 2006. I have asked my officials to look at any mitigating actions that might be possible to speed up any payments.

Soil

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the work of the task force on soil guidance values; and when she expects this group to report formally on the outcomes of their work and meetings.

Elliot Morley: The Soil Guideline Values Task Force is an initiative of the Cabinet Office Business Regulation team and the Government Departments and agencies most involved in the publication of the Defra/Environment Agency soil guideline values and related materials. This technical guidance help in assessing risk to human health in connection with land contamination, for example when considering regulatory action or proposals for development of land.
	In the interests of better communication with ail stakeholders the group now includes representatives from both local authorities and the private sector. It is looking at a number of issues including, training and awareness raising, timetables for further publications, and approaches to elevated ambient levels of some substances. We currently expect formal proposals from the group later in the year.

UN Environment Programme

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by whom her Department was represented at the annual ministerial planning meeting for the United Nations Environment Programme, held in Nairobi, on 21 to 25 February; what issues were on the agenda; what matters were agreed; what papers were submitted to the meeting by the United Kingdom; and if she will place a copy of the final agreement and papers submitted in the Library.

Elliot Morley: I represented the United Kingdom during the 23 governing council, global ministerial environment forum of the United Nations Environment Programme. The UK delegation also included officials from Defra, DfID,
	FCO and the UK mission in Nairobi.
	The ministerial consultations considered UNEP's contribution to the following themes:
	Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger (millennium development goal one) within the context of environment;
	Ensuring environmental sustainability (millennium development goal seven) together with policy issues related to water, sanitation and human settlements;
	Promoting gender equality and empower women (millennium development goal three) within the context of gender and environment.
	A non-negotiated president's summary was produced to capture the key elements of the ministerial consultations, which will form UNEP's contribution to the UN commission on sustainable development and the UN millennium review summit.
	In parallel discussions formal decisions were taken on the following issues:
	Chemicals;
	Water policy and strategy of UNEP;
	International environmental governance;
	Gender equality and the environment;
	Green procurement practices for UNEP;
	Poverty and environment;
	Strengthening environmental emergency response and developing disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation and early warning in the aftermath of the Indian ocean tsunami disaster;
	Keeping the world environmental situation under review;
	2006–07 budget and work programme of UNEP;
	Trust funds;
	Administrative and other budgetary matters;
	Agenda and location of the nine special session of the UNEP governing council, global ministerial environment forum.
	The United Kingdom worked closely with its EU colleagues in all areas on the basis of papers tabled by the secretariat of UNEP and others, but did not table any papers of its own. The outcomes of the meeting highlighted that environmental sustainability underpins the achievement of the millennium development goals and the world summit on sustainable development targets in line with EU and UK objectives.
	A copy of the decisions and the president's summary will be made available in the Library once formally issued.

Wheat

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of the two metre-wide strip on wheat farmers with regard to contamination from ergot and other weeds; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: This cross compliance requirement allows regular cutting to control the growth of vegetation, it also includes an exemption which allows the spot application of herbicide for the control of weeds in the 2-metre protection zone. In cases of severe weed infestations, farmers can also seek the Rural Payments Agency's approval to use more rigorous weed control measures.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Renewable Energy Manufacturing Industry

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to support the renewable energy manufacturing industry.

Nigel Griffiths: We are spending almost half a billion pounds from 2002–08 on emerging technologies. Money that has already been allocated from this includes: £117 million in capital grants for round 1 offshore wind farms; approximately £66 million for biomass capital grants; £331 million for solar; £12.5 million for the Clear Skies Programme; over £50 million for Renewables; around £19 million/year for industry led R and D: £4 million for research under the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's Supergen programme.

Globalisation

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to assess the impact of globalisation on UK manufacturing.

Douglas Alexander: The White Paper Trade and Investment: Making Globalisation a Force a Good" published in July 2004 analyses the growth of globalisation and the challenges it poses. In the same month we published a review of the Manufacturing Strategy setting out a framework for action to address this and other challenges facing manufactures in the UK. It focuses on support for innovation and skills, and helping industry to produce smarter, higher value-added products. This message is reinforced in The DTI Five Year Programme, published in November 2004, which sets out the Government's approach to help British companies succeed in today's challenging global economy.

Energy Supply (Security)

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the security of energy supply for the UK.

Mike O'Brien: The market is delivering secure energy supplies, and we expect it to continue to do so.
	For example, we are seeing plans being brought forward for new gas import pipelines and infrastructure to import liquid natural gas.
	There are also signs that the market is already thinking about the need for new build to meet future demand. For example, E-On recently announced plans for an upgrade of its generating facility on the Isle of Grain.

Competition

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to assist UK-based companies in competing against companies in China.

Patricia Hewitt: The DTI Five Programme and Manufacturing Strategy Review set out a framework for action to help British companies succeed in today's global economy, including responding to challenge from emerging economies such as China.
	My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister chairs the China Task Force, set up following the Prime Minister's visit to China in 2003, which has produced a range of recommendations to strengthen our commercial performance in China.

Competition

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to assist UK companies in competing with companies in emerging economies, with particular reference to India and China.

Douglas Alexander: The Government are fully aware of the challenges from emerging economies. That is why in 2002 we brought together industry and other stakeholders to develop the Manufacturing Strategy, the first from any Government in over 30 years. We are building a consensus on the challenges that lie ahead and have set out a framework for action to address them in the original Strategy document and the Strategy review published in July last year. This message is reinforced in The DTI Five Year Programme, published in November 2004, which sets out the Government's approach to help British companies succeed in today's challenging global economy.

Minimum Wage (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the effect of the proposed increase to the minimum wage in October on workers in Coventry.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We do not have information on the number of workers specific to Coventry who will be guaranteed a pay rise from the recently announced increases in the minimum wage for 2005. For the West Midlands region as a whole, we estimate this will guarantee a pay rise for 140,000 workers.

Manufacturing (West Bromwich)

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to help small and medium UK manufacturing companies in West Bromwich West.

Nigel Griffiths: DTI support to small and medium UK manufacturing companies is in the main accessed via the Black Country Business Link and the West Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service.
	Over the last two year the Business Link has provided a range of support to more than 300 small and medium manufacturing companies with 66 receiving significant assistance. The West Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service has worked with 96 companies since September 2002 with approximately 12 receiving significant assistance of approximately £75,000 after referral to other programmes.

EU Regulations

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she takes to ensure that EU regulations do not conflict with the competitiveness of UK industry and to encourage uniform application within the EU.

Nigel Griffiths: DTI has taken a strong lead in the Government drive for better EU law, in line with Lisbon goals. Ensuring that impacts on competitiveness are properly considered for all new EU proposals is a key priority and will continue to be during the UK Presidency.DTI is fully supportive of the European Commission's actions to ensure consistent application of EU law.

Corporate Responsibility

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what duty of care there is on corporate directors to take account of the consequences to (a) communities, (b) the environment, (c) health and safety of employees and (d) shareholders of decisions they take.

Jacqui Smith: Directors owe fiduciary duties and duties of care and skill to the company.
	In fulfilling these duties, a director will need, where relevant, to consider the impact of the company's operations on the community and on the environment. Directors can, in certain circumstances, be personally guilty of a health and safety offence (under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974).
	The Company Lay Reform Bill, draft clauses of which will be published this session, will include a statutory statement of director's general duties. This will require each director to act in the way that he or she concludes is most likely to achieve the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole. The director's duties will be owed to, and enforceable by the company.

Ellington Colliery

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the safety of Ellington Colliery; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Assessment of the safety risks associated with activities at any coal mines is principally a matter for the operator. UK Coal will have taken safety into account when considering the viability of Ellington Colliery. .

Manufacturing

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of actual output related to manufacturing (a) at the latest date for which figures are available, (b) five years ago and (c) 10 years ago.

Jacqui Smith: The percentage of UK GDP accounted for by manufacturing in (a) 2003 was 15.7 per cent. The corresponding figure for (b) was 20.2 per cent. and for (c) 1993 was 21.0 per cent.

Nuclear Power

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her policy on nuclear power.

Mike O'Brien: Our policy remains as set out in the 2003 Energy White Paper. The Government has no specific proposals but does not rule out the option.

Premium Telephone Numbers

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will refer the operators of premium telephone numbers (a) 09061 260000, (b) 09058 091165 and (c) 09011 332222 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services.

Mike O'Brien: ICSTIS can investigate Premium Rate Numbers only if it receives full written details of how the service or the promotional literature for it has failed the consumer. The hon. Member should write to ICSTIS with details of the complaint. I understand that the numbers 09058091165 and 09011332222 have been turned off. ICSTIS presumes that this has happened for commercial reasons.

Premium Telephone Numbers

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will refer the operators of premium telephone numbers (a) 09064 069447, (b) 09061 222823 and (c) 09066 650440 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services.

Mike O'Brien: ICSTIS can investigate Premium Rate numbers only if it receives full written details of how the service or the promotional literature for it has failed the consumer. The hon. Member should write to ICSTIS with details of the complaint. I understand that the number 0906660440 has been turned off. ICSTIS presumes this has happened for commercial reasons.

Premium Telephone Numbers

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she will refer the operators of premium telephone number (a) 09064 037022, (b) 09064 038500 and (c) 09064 037811 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services;
	(2)  if she will refer the operators of premium telephone numbers (a) 09065 701933, (b) 09050 090990 and (c) 09063 490192 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services;
	(3)  if she will refer the operators of premium telephone numbers (a) 09065 706214, (b) 09066 650458 and (c) 09065 706725 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services.

Mike O'Brien: ICSTIS can investigate Premium Rate Numbers only if it receives full written details of how the service or the promotional literature for it has failed the consumer. The hon. Member should write to ICSTIS with details of the complaint.

Radioactive Emissions

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons no filter was fitted to the discharge outlet at Dounreay to prevent the discharge of radioactive particles into the sea prior to 2004.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 28 February 2005
	Regulation of radioactive discharges from nuclear sites is a devolved matter for the Scottish Executive.
	A principle objective of the system used for the management of radioactive effluent at Dounreay has been to prevent particulate getting into the effluent at source. UKAEA recognises that the methods used to achieve this during the early years of the plant's operation were not wholly effective and would not be acceptable by today's standards.
	Over many years, improvements have been carried out to improve the control of particulate in liquid effluent. These improvements include the replacement of the low-active drain in the late 1970s and the installation in the early to mid 1980s of filters to the discharge outlets of facilities where particles are known to have originated. A new sea discharge pipeline was installed circa 1990 and a new Low Level Liquid Effluent Treatment Plant was commissioned in 2003. The new effluent treatment plant is designed to facilitate the settlement and removal of solids from the site's active liquid effluent. In parallel with the construction and commissioning of the new effluent treatment plant, a wide range of investigations were carried out to determine whether there were still particles in the site's active liquid effluent system. These investigations failed to find any evidence that particles were still being discharged from the site.
	The installation of final filtration at the point of discharge to sea from the new effluent treatment plant is currently being undertaken and will provide additional reassurance that particles are not being discharged from the site.

Radioactive Emissions

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reports she has received on levels of contamination arising from radioactive emissions in Sandside Bay in Caithness and the surrounding seabed in the period since 1977.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 28 February 2005
	Environmental monitoring and regulation of radioactive discharges are devolved matters for the Scottish Executive.
	However, I understand that information about radioactive emissions from Dounreay has been published in the annual reports of UKAEA, the Statistical Bulletin Series published the Scottish Office and the Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE) Series published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. All particle finds at Sandside are reported to the regulator. Information about all particles found on Sandside is published on the UKAEA website which is updated as soon as analytical results are available and SEPA have been notified (normally the following working day).

Radioactive Emissions

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons the levels of radioactive emissions into Sandside Bay and the surrounding area were not accurately reported by the UK Atomic Energy Authority in the period from 1977.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 28 February 2005
	Environmental monitoring and regulation of radioactive discharges are devolved matters for the Scottish Executive.
	There are no emissions directly into Sandside Bay. However, discharges of radioactivity to the environment from Dounreay have been regulated since 1977 by the former HM Industrial Pollution Inspectorate and, since 1996, by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. UKAEA calculates the impact of these discharges on the local environment and compares this with the effects measured on local fauna and flora in its statutory environmental monitoring programme. SEPA undertakes independent monitoring and publishes their findings in the annual Radioactivity In Food and the Environment (RIFE) report.
	All finds of particles at Sandside (including the offshore, foreshore and beach) are fully reported on UKAEA's website. UKAEA have recently checked the accuracy of this information against all the historical records available and tell me they are confident that they have been accurately reported.

Steel Industry

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on prospects for the steel industry.

Patricia Hewitt: After a period of very difficult trading conditions, prospects for the UK steel industry are now good. Deliveries by UK producers increased by 9.6 per cent. over the last year. In September 2004, Corus announced that it had made a profit for the first time since the company was formed in 1999.

Tuvalu (Trojan Diallers)

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make representations to the Government of Tuvalu concerning UK citizens facing charges from trojan diallers operating from Tuvalu.

Mike O'Brien: The Government have no plans to make representations to the Government of Tuvalu concerning UK citizens facing charges from Trojan diallers operating from Tuvalu. UK telecoms companies regularly bar access to the specific numbers dialled. The volume of complaints about Tuvalu numbers is currently declining.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Equal Pay

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women if she will make a statement on progress towards equal pay for men and women doing the same job.

Jacqui Smith: Since 1998 the median gender pay gap has closed from 17.4 per cent. to 14.4 per cent. To close the pay gap further we set up the Women and Work Commission to investigate the causes. I look forward to their interim statement, due to be published later this month.

Equal Pay

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Minister for Women what steps the Government are taking to close the pay gap between men and women; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: As well as setting up the Women and Work Commission, the Government have led by example with all 88 Government Departments and Agencies having conducted equal pay reviews. This is reinforced by our target of 45 per cent. of large organisations having carried out equal pay reviews by 2008.
	I am pleased that the Equal Opportunities Commission in Scotland have recently launched into occupational segregation.

Commission on Equality and Human Rights

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Minister for Women what progress is being made towards the establishment of a Commission on Equality and Human Rights.

Patricia Hewitt: I am very pleased that the Government have today published a Bill to establish the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which will play a key part in realising our vision of a fair, cohesive and prosperous society based on opportunity for all, respect for all and good relations between communities.

Career Sexism

Anne Campbell: To ask the Minister for Women what steps she is taking to tackle career sexism.

Patricia Hewitt: I was delighted to launch a cross-Government plan to tackle career sexism at the Equal Opportunities Commission's Gender and Productivity Summit in October. Further work on tackling occupational segregation is being taken forward in the context of the Women and Work Commission, and I look forward to their interim statement, which is due to be published later this month.

PRIME MINISTER

Ministerial Visits (Expenses)

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister what proportion of the costs of his visits to UK towns and cities since 1 January have been met from public funds; and what the total sum spent from public funds has been.

Tony Blair: Since 1 January I have made official visits to 17 UK towns and cities. The cost to public funds of these visits, for which figures are available, is £13,350. The Labour Party meets any costs incurred on party political business.
	I travel making the most efficient and cost-effective arrangements. My travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code, and the accompanying guidance document, Travel by Ministers".

Royal Marriage

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with (a) the Prime Minister of (i) Canada, (ii) New Zealand and (iii) Australia and (b) other heads of government of countries where Her Majesty the Queen is Head of State about legislating in accordance with the Statute of Westminster 1931 for His Royal Highness Prince Charles to effect a morganatic marriage; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what advice the Government have given to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales regarding whether his proposed marriage to Mrs Camilla Parker-Bowles would constitute a morganatic marriage;
	(3)  what advice the Government have given to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales regarding the basis on which Mrs Camilla Parker-Bowles would not become Queen following her proposed marriage to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on his accession to the throne; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign Governments.
	Discussions with the Royal Household are not disclosed.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of Somali asylum seekers have claimed asylum (a) at an airport and (b) having travelled first through other countries in the past 24 months.

Des Browne: holding answer 25 February 2005
	The number of asylum applications received from nationals of Somalia, excluding dependants, was 5,090 in 2003 and 2,590 in 2004. Internal management information shows that between nine and 10 per cent. of Somali asylum applications are made at an airport.
	There are no direct flights to the United Kingdom from Somalia. All those asylum applicants who claimed that they were Somali nationals and who had travelled from Somalia will therefore have travelled through other countries in order to reach the United Kingdom.
	Information on asylum applications is published quarterly on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Biometric Data

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what ways his proposal for biometric data on UK identity documents (a) exceeds and (b) fails to meet the standard required by the United States for non-visa entry into that country; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The US requirements for non-visa entry currently apply only to the British passport. US legislation requires that by 26 October 2005 all countries participating in the Visa Waiver Programme must have a programme in place to include biometric identifiers into their machine readable passports that meet International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.
	The UK is fully engaged with the US in meeting the requirements to remain part of the visa waiver programme (VWP). The UK has established an implementation programme to enable it to begin the issue of UK biometric passports (ePassport) by 26 October 2005. The design of the ePassport meets the current set of requirements demanded by the United States for non-visa entry. It will incorporate identifiers that meet ICAO standards for biometric authentication, including a photographic image of the bearer, held digitally in the chip of the ePassport.

Crime Figures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the recorded crime figures published in July 2004.

Hazel Blears: The recorded crime figures showed an increase of 1 per cent. in the number of crimes recorded by the police in 2003–04 compared with 2002–03. There were falls of 9 per cent. in both offences of theft of and theft from a vehicle. Domestic burglary also fell by 8 per cent.
	Overall violent crime rose by 12 per cent. though much of this increase is due to the impact of changes in recording and the introduction of new offences.
	Police recorded crime statistics provide a good measure of trends in well-reported crimes, and are an important indicator of police workload. For the offences it covers, and the victims within its scope, the British Crime Survey gives a more complete estimate of crime in England and Wales since it covers both unreported and unrecorded crime and provides more reliable data on trends. 2003–04 BCS interviews showed a reduction of 5 per cent. compared with 2002–03 interviews.
	Latest quarterly figures were published on 25 January and both recorded crime and BCS results showed crime falling. BCS interviews during the 12 months ending September 2004 found an 11 per cent. fall compared with the preceding 12 months. There was a 6 per cent. reduction in the overall level of crime recorded by the police in July to September 2004 compared with the same period in the previous year.

Crime Figures

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) thefts, (b) burglaries, (c) robberies, (d) property crimes, (e) violent crimes and (f) all crimes there were in (i) England, (ii) north Yorkshire and (iii) City of York in each of the last 10 years according to the British Crime Survey.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 23 February 2005
	Results from the British Crime Survey (BCS) on the number of incidents of crime in England and Wales are available in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/04 (2004) 'Crime in England and Wales 2003–04', which is published at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds

Detention Centres

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many detainees under the age of 18 years were held in detention centres in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the average detention time of each individual under the age of 18 years held in detention centres was in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: Information on the number of children held in detention centres and the average time for which they were there in each year since 1997 is not available. It would only be available by examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost.
	Information is only available on a quarterly snapshot basis since December 2003. As at 27 December 2003, 10 people who were detained solely under Immigration Act powers were recorded as being under 18-years old; as at 25 December 2004, there were 25 people recorded as being under 18-years old. However, information on the number of children detained on 27 December 2003 excludes minors detained with their families at Oakington Reception Centre. These children were included in the published statistics for 2004; for this reason the figures are not comparable. Information on the average time these children had been detained is not available.

Feltham Young Offender Institution

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners at Feltham Young Offender Institution are held on remand awaiting deportation having completed their sentences; how many prisoners were held on that basis in 2004; and for what periods such prisoners were held.

Des Browne: With effect 19 February there was one person detained in Feltham after completion of sentence and a total of 194 in the prison estate.
	Information on the numbers held during 2004 and the period persons are detained following completion of prison sentences is not available.
	Work is ongoing to improve the quality of data held on those people detained under Immigration Act powers in prison establishments.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has held with the Scottish Executive concerning the implementation of the Fresh Talent initiative.

Des Browne: The Scottish Executive is responsible for its broader Fresh Talent Initiative but we hold regular discussions with them on various aspects of it. In respect of the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme, which will be launched in summer 2005, Home Office and Scottish Executive officials last held discussions on 1 February 2005.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) changes to existing legislation and (b) new legislation will be required to allow for introduction of the measures proposed in Fresh Talent; what the timetable is for the introduction of such (i) changes and (ii) legislation; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The Scottish Executive's Fresh Talent Initiative is a wide-ranging initiative, not confined to immigration matters. We are working with them on a range of measures, such as ensuring that Scottish employers have full information on the existing immigration routes to the UK. These require no changes to legislation.
	One aspect which requires changes to the Immigration Rules is the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme. This scheme will enable overseas students who have successfully completed an HND, degree, Masters or PhD in Scotland to apply for leave to seek and take work in Scotland for up to two years. The scheme will be launched in summer 2005 and a specific date will be published in due course. The necessary amendments to the secondary legislation will be laid before Parliament 21 days before the scheme comes into effect, as is customary practice.

Judicial System

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of running the justice system was in (a) 1995, (b) 1997, (c) 1999, (d) 2001 and (e) 2003; and what the expected cost is in 2005–06.

Paul Goggins: Three Government Departments, the Home Office, Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General (including the Crown Prosecution Service) are jointly responsible for the justice system.
	HM Treasury regularly publish statistics on public expenditure which are freely available via the HM Treasury's website at http://www.hmtreasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_ spending_statistics/pes_publications.
	The three Departments also publish annual departmental and other reports, which give comprehensive information about delivery and service improvements.
	The overall cost of the justice system" as a whole, including the administration of justice, policing and offender management was:
	
		£ million
		
			  Overall cost 
		
		
			 1995–96 13,352 
			 1997–98 14,318 
			 1999–2000 15,099 
			 2001–02 18,340 
			 2003–04 (estimate) 22,227 
		
	
	The figures presented are a mix of cash and accruals. All outturn figures up until 1997–98 are on a cash accounting basis. Outturn figures for 1999–2000 and 2001–02 are on an accruals basis, as is the estimated outturn data for 2003–04.
	The expected costs of the justice system" in 2005–06 have not yet been finalised and are subject to central and local government financial planning rounds.
	Note:
	The historical figures used in this answer are taken from the HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2004 and 2001–02.

Personation

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department takes to prevent fraud against private enterprises by people impersonating individuals known to be dead.

Des Browne: The Home Office-led Identity Fraud Steering Committee, which comprises public and private sector organisations that are committed to reducing identity fraud, began a project in November 2004 to explore the benefits, feasibility and legal impediments of sharing public sector deceased person information with private sector organisations involved in fraud prevention. The organisations involved are the Home Office, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and CIFAS—the UK's Fraud Prevention Service. CIFAS membership includes more than 200 companies covering sectors such as financial services, utilities and insurance.
	The first phase of the project involved a sample of 50confirmed impersonation of deceased (IOD) cases. These were processed against ONS data on deceased people to establish whether the fraud could have been detected and prevented had the ONS data been available to CIFAS members when the fraudsters' applications were processed. The project found that sharing this data would not have a significant impact on reducing this type of fraud.
	The second phase of the project is exploring the benefits of sharing deceased person data held by DWP to reduce deceased person fraud. This includes confirming whether the data held by DWP would help to reduce IOD fraud; running the same cases of IOD fraud (as used in the first phase) against the information held by DWP; and establishing whether any showstoppers" or legal impediments exist that would prevent DWP data on deceased people from being shared with the private sector.
	Initial results suggest that sharing DWP data may help to reduce IOD fraud, but further work is needed to evaluate the benefits that could be obtained. This work is now under way along with an examination of any possible legal impediments to sharing the data.

Police

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will draw on best practice within the public and private sector to ensure that the skills and abilities of women and ethnic minorities within the police force are developed to their full potential; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Government are committed to professionalising the whole police workforce. A central plank of our workforce modernisation programme is to develop and implement improved learning and development for everyone in the service and ensure, in particular, that women and people from ethnic minorities have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
	The Core Leadership Development Programme will ensure that officers of all levels can develop the important leadership skills that they need to carry out their duties effectively. This programme will be open to officers from sergeant to chief inspector level. It will also be open to police staff—6 per cent. of whom are from minority ethnic backgrounds and 62 per cent. of whom are women—at equivalent levels.
	We intend to strengthen the Senior Careers Advisory Service to support those with potential for senior leadership. In doing so, we will learn from other organisations' experience and explore joint development opportunities with them, including secondments and exchanges.
	A career in the police service should be an opportunity for life long learning and development. We want all those working in the police service to have clear career pathways in which to develop their professional skills and have these accredited. We will develop a formal qualifications framework and are considering developing professional registers for the service in line with practice in other professions.
	Officers and staff will be given the opportunity to keep their skills up to date as they progress through more structured careers. We will put in place mechanisms for continuously developing the operational skills of constables. Officers will be assessed against national occupational standards and we will award those who achieve the standards with a qualification which will be recognised outside the service.
	We are also considering changes to regulations so that officers will no longer be required to have spent a specific number of years in a particular rank before being eligible for promotion. This will remove barriers to promotion and widen the pool of those who are eligible. We are also keen to identify members of police staff with potential for development and we will look to develop arrangements for a high potential development scheme for police staff similar to that available to officers.
	Police staff play an increasingly important role in the police service and we are keen to attract more women and people from ethnic minorities into the police service from outside. We intend also to draw on practice elsewhere and encourage members of ethnic minorities with successful careers in other professions to apply for lateral entry to the police service.
	We will review our promotion and progression procedures to ensure they are fair, transparent and have no adverse impact on women or minority ethnic officers. Any barriers identified will be removed.
	We will also work closely with the British Association of Women Police to ensure women have the support and opportunities to reach their potential. Part of this will be ensuring that the working environment for women is professional and supportive and that police training will be available on a non- residential and part time basis. More opportunity for flexible working patterns, should provide greater opportunity to gain experience in a wider range of roles.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council Funding

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the total grant in aid to the Arts Council in England was provided to theatres in each financial year since 1997.

Estelle Morris: The table shows the Arts Council's funding commitments to theatres over the last three years as a percentage of their total grant-in-aid spending.
	
		Theatre spend as a proportion ACE spending
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2002–03 33 
			 2003–04 35 
			 2004–05 34 
		
	
	Information on funding for theatres as a proportion of total grant-in-aid between 1997–2002 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, it is clear that the increase in funding that took place after the 2001 theatre review has dramatically improved funding to theatre. The increase in funding between 2000–01 and 2003–04 represents a 72 per cent. increase in ACE funding for theatre.

Departmental Policies

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Islington, South and Finsbury constituency, the effects on Islington, South and Finsbury of her Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Richard Caborn: The Department's aim is to improve the quality of life for everyone through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries. The Department's policies and actions have had a significant impact on Islington, South and Finsbury since 2 May 1997.
	In order to achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested in thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities. In 2002 we launched the first ever comprehensive national physical education, school sport and club links strategy with an investment of £459 million. There are two school sport partnerships based in Islington south and Finsbury, involving three school sport co-ordinators and 27 primary link teachers. To achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested in thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities. Sports facilities in Islington, South and Finsbury have benefited from four Sport England community capital lottery grants totalling £4,792,287, and a further two awards worth £875,736 in total from the £108 million investment in innovative sports facilities through the Active England programme.
	We have increased our national funding to the arts in real terms by 60 per cent. from £199 million in 1998–99 to £367 million in 2004–5. Between 1998–99 and 2003–04, funding to Arts Council England, London increased from £13.6 million to £133.8 million, including from 1 April 2003, funding to major national arts organisations in London. In 2005–06 the total Arts Council England, London investment in regularly funded organisations will be £151.6 million. Islington south and Finsbury has benefited from grants to arts organisations and individuals, including the Almeida theatre and the Union Chapel Project: Ten Feet Away".
	Schools in Islington, South and Finsbury were included in the first phase of the Creative Partnerships programme which began in 2002. Creative Partnerships aims to give school children and their teachers the opportunity to explore their creativity by working on sustained projects with creative organisations and individuals, including artists, theatre companies, dance studios, museums, orchestras, film-makers and historic buildings. Funding of £65 million was allocated for the period 2002–05 to develop creative partnerships, and the programme will receive at least a further £86 million in 2005–08.
	Culture Online was launched in 2002 to increase access to, and participation in, arts and culture. Many of its projects are aimed at children of school age and at audiences that might not otherwise participate in arts and culture, including those who do not easily have access to arts and culture, people from deprived communities and people with particular educational or physical needs. People in Islington, South and Finsbury will be among those who benefit from Culture Online. Between 2002 and 2004, £13 million was allocated to fund 20 Culture Online projects.
	Through our commitment to public service broadcasting we have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high quality original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and Channel 4, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. The Communications Act 2003 includes provisions to ensure that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future.
	Our support for, and promotion of, the film and broadcasting industries have contributed to the general success of film-making and television activity in the Islington, South and Finsbury area. The UK Film Council's First Light initiative for young film-makers aged between 11 and 18 has supported a number of initiatives in Islington, including providing a grant of £30,000 to the All Change Arts" organisation for the making of five films in which 95 young people were involved. Film London provided a £10,000 lottery grant to the Film and Video Workshop. The Human Rights Watch Festival, also based in Islington, received £5,000.
	In November 2000 we introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over. Information on the number of beneficiaries by constituency is not available. However, according to Department for Work and Pensions records, the number of households in the Islington south and Finsbury constituency with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 2003–4 was 3,505.
	We have changed the licensing laws to allow people to hold and attend commercial dances on Sunday, to make it easier for restaurants to open an hour later, and to relax the alcohol licensing hours from 11pm on new year's eve to 11am on new year's day in all future years; and we have given the police greater powers to take action against under-age drinking and disorderly and noisy licensed premises. The Licensing Act 2003, when fully implemented, will introduce a streamlined, consistent and fair licensing regime for the provision of alcohol, public entertainment and late night refreshment. It will provide greater choice for consumers, bring regeneration and increased employment opportunities and protect local residents whose lives have been blighted by disturbance and antisocial behaviour.
	The Gambling Bill will, when implemented, transfer responsibility for licensing gambling premises to local authorities. Local people and businesses will be able to make representations about applications for licenses and local authorities will be able to decide not to issue licenses for casino premises. These changes will give local communities, including those in Islington south and Finsbury, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.
	Tourism across London has benefited from Government-funded marketing activity. In April 2003 we established VisitBritain with a new domestic marketing remit for England, and its successful marketing activities in promoting Britain abroad as an attractive tourist destination, benefit all parts of the country, including Islington, South and Finsbury. Responsibility for the promotion of tourism in London was devolved to the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority (GLA) under the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Since 2000–01, DCMS has worked with the Mayor and the GLA to fund marketing and tourism development activities in London. Data on the precise effect of this support for tourism in Islington south and Finsbury is not held centrally.
	English Heritage has awarded grants worth £1,567,929 to Islington, South and Finsbury since 2 May 1997, including £1,121,654 to the London borough of Islington for the Keystone Crescent Conservation Area Partnership Scheme (£159,691 in 1997), the Caledonian Road and Chapel Market Heritage Economic Regeneration Schemes (£459,698 from 1997 to 2004) and funding for specialist conservation posts (£502,265 from 1997 to 2003).
	In common with all those in the United Kingdom, the public library branches in Islington, South and Finsbury are connected to the Internet through the People's Network which was funded through a £120 million lottery grant and which has put all the United Kingdom's public libraries on-line. In addition, the Department is funding the museums, libraries and archives council with £5 million over three years to implement the Framework for the Future Action Plan and Library Improvement Programme, which is designed to encourage improvement across the public libraries sector in England.
	Information from the national lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 Islington, South and Finsbury constituency has benefited from 868 awards totalling over £189 million. Of these, 55 awards worth over £44 million were made by the New Opportunities Fund which was established by the Government in 1999. The New Opportunities Fund merged with the Community Fund in June 2004 to form the Big Lottery Fund.

Departmental Policies

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency, the effects on Sittingbourne and Sheppey of the Department's policies and actions since 1997.

Richard Caborn: The Department's aim is to improve the quality of life for everyone through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries. The Department's policies and actions have had a significant impact on Sittingbourne and Sheppey since 2 May 1997.
	In order to achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested in thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities. In 2002 we launched the first ever comprehensive national physical education, school sport and club links strategy with an investment of £459 million. A school sports partnership in Sittingbourne and Sheppey is scheduled to begin in the autumn of 2005. To achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested in thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities. Sports facilities in Sittingbourne and Sheppey have benefited from six Sport England lottery grants totalling £1,286,628.
	We have increased our national funding to the arts in real terms by 60 per cent. from £199 million in 1998–99 to £367 million in 2004–05. Between 1998–99 and 2003–04 funding to Arts Council England, South East increased from £2.6 million to £12.1 million. In 2005–06 the total Arts Council England, South East investment in regularly funded organisations will be £12.7 million. Sittingbourne and Sheppey has benefited from grants to arts projects, organisations and individuals in the South East Department including the Stour Valley Arts Project and the Sheppey Community Theatre.
	Young people in Sittingbourne and Sheppey have benefited from the South East Youth Music Action Zone, known as Rhythmix. Rhythmix became a Youth Music Action Zone in 2000 and has so far been awarded three grants totalling £1,150,000. 21,431 young people have taken part in local music projects and events run by this action zone.
	Culture Online was launched in 2002 to increase access to, and participation in, arts and culture. Many of its projects are aimed at children of school age and at audiences that might not otherwise participate in arts and culture, including those who do not easily have access to arts and culture, people from deprived communities and people with particular educational or physical needs. People in Sittingbourne and Sheppey will be among those who benefit from Culture Online. Between 2002 and 2004, £13 million was allocated to fund 20 Culture Online projects.
	Through our commitment to public service broadcasting we have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high quality original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and Channel 4, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. The Communications Act 2003 includes provisions to ensure that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future.
	In November 2000 we introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over. Information on the number of beneficiaries by constituency is not available. However, according to Department for Work and Pensions records, the number of households in Sittingbourne and Sheppey with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 was 4,885.
	We have changed the licensing laws to allow people to hold and attend commercial dances on Sunday, to make it easier for restaurants to open an hour later, and to relax the alcohol licensing hours from 11 pm on new year's eve to 11 am on new year's day in all future years; and we have given the police greater powers to take action against under-age drinking and disorderly and noisy licensed premises. The Licensing Act 2003, when fully implemented, will introduce a streamlined, consistent and fair licensing regime for the provision of alcohol, public entertainment and late night refreshment. It will provide greater choice for consumers, bring regeneration and increased employment opportunities and protect local residents whose lives have been blighted by disturbance and antisocial behaviour.
	The Gambling Bill will, when implemented, transfer responsibility for licensing gambling premises to local authorities. Local people and businesses will be able to make representations about applications for licenses and local authorities will be able to decide not to issue licenses for casino premises. These changes will give local communities, including those in Sittingbourne and Sheppey, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.
	Tourism in Sittingbourne and Sheppey has benefited from Government-funded marketing activity. In April 2003 we established VisitBritain with a new domestic marketing remit for England, and we gave strategic responsibility for tourism development to the Regional Development Agencies, including the South East Regional Development Agency. These changes, together with VisitBritain's successful marketing activities in promoting Britain abroad as an attractive tourist destination, benefit all parts of the country, including Sittingbourne and Sheppey.
	English Heritage has awarded grants worth £512,984 to Sittingbourne and Sheppey since 2 May 1997, including £169,900 to SS Mary and Sexburgha Church, Minster on Sea in 1998 and £185,000 to Swale borough council for the Sheerness Town Centre Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme from 2001 to 2003.
	In common with all those in the United Kingdom, the public library branches in Sittingbourne and Sheppey are connected to the internet through the People's Network which was funded through a £120 million lottery grant and which has put all the United Kingdom's public libraries on-line. In addition, the Department is funding the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council with £5 million over three years to implement the Framework for the Future Action Plan and Library Improvement Programme, which is designed to encourage improvement across the public libraries sector in England.
	The Department has been an energetic advocate of the community and informal learning value of public libraries. Kent county council has recognised this value and has undertaken initiatives such as giving access to automated services of information in 12 of Kent's libraries, including Sheerness, and training library workers to deal with the particular needs of asylum seekers and refugees across the county of Kent. These two projects were allocated DCMS/Wolfson Foundation funding of £224,000 and £75,000 respectively.
	Information from the national lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 Sittingbourne and Sheppey has benefited from over 128 awards totalling over £6.1 million. Of these, 27 awards worth over £3.3 million were made by the New Opportunities Fund which was established by the Government in 1999. The New Opportunities Fund merged with the Community Fund in June 2004 to form the Big Lottery Fund.

Licensing

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers the police have to object to the licensing of a night club.

Richard Caborn: There is no legal definition of a nightclub". Under the current licensing regime the police may object to the licensing justices about the grant or renewal of a justices' licence authorising the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises. They may also object to the grant of a special hours certificate by the justices which authorises sales of alcohol outside of normal permitted hours until 2.00 a.m. in most of the country and until 3.00 a.m. in the west end of London. In order to obtain a special hours certificate, a nightclub must first obtain a public entertainment licence which authorises music and dancing and which is granted by the local authority. The police may also object to grant or renewal of this licence.
	The Licensing Act 2003 provides that responsible authorities, including the chief officer of police, may make representations about applications, including those by nightclubs, for provisional statements and about the grant or variation of premises licences. Responsible authorities may also apply for a review of a licence at any time as well as make representations about a review after it has been granted.
	Representations must be about the effects of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Where a simple conversion of an existing licence is made under the grandfather rights provisions in schedule 8 of the Act then the chief officer of police may make representations based on crime and disorder grounds.

National Lottery

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list each of the programmes that have been funded by the New Opportunities Fund since 1997, broken down by amounts (a) allocated and (b) distributed.

Estelle Morris: The table shows the total funding target for each of the New Opportunities Fund's policy direction initiatives, together with amounts committed, since 1997. Several of these programmes are long-term initiatives which were not intended to be completed by 2005 or where planning and design of facilities was expected to take time. For example, the Big Lottery Fund are on target to comply with the direction to commit all the Fund for New Opportunities for PE and Sport before the end of this year.
	
		
			£000 
			 Initiatives Total funding target Amount committed as at 31 December 2004 Amount distributed as at 31 December 2004 
		
		
			 Health Programmes
			 Healthy Living Centres 300,000 267,775 124,536 
			 Cancer prevention detection treatment and care 149,530 145,193 135,295 
			 Reducing the burden of CHD, stroke and cancer 213,500 199,088 102,819 
			 Palliative Care 84,470 78,616 30,063 
			 
			 Education Programmes
			 Out of school hours learning 258,900 214,906 167,794 
			 Out of school hours childcare and childcare 418,500 372,785 279,386 
			 Community access to lifelong learning 200,000 188,218 169,279 
			 ICT training and content creation 301,000 287,361 255,540 
			 Opportunities for young people—PE and sport in schools 852,050 597,968 82,385 
			 Opportunities and activities for young people 67,200 64,549 60,913 
			 Young People's Fund 174,120 0 — 
			 
			 Environment programmes
			 Green spaces and sustainable communities 130,000 116,727 94,251 
			 Transforming communities 159,000 138,062 29,381 
			 Small scale grants scheme 54,840 44,519 38,367 
			 Fairshare 50,000 50,000 50,000 
			 Veterans(5) 5,160 10,723 9,074 
		
	
	(5) Remaining Veterans budget to be allocated from ICT underspend

National Trust

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether (a) she and (b) her Ministers discussed the proposed administrative changes at the National Trust at the meeting with the director general of the National Trust on 2 February.

Richard Caborn: The meeting on 2 February 2005 was an informal discussion with a number of representatives from the heritage sector. The proposed administrative changes at the National Trust were not discussed.

Sports (Access)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what plans she has to expand access to sports and fitness services for young people on low incomes;
	(2)  what plans she has to expand access to sports and fitness services for elderly people on low incomes;
	(3)  what plans she has to expand access to sports and fitness services for disabled people on low incomes.

Richard Caborn: My Department has a Public Service Agreement target to increase, by 2008, the take-up of cultural and sporting opportunities by people aged 16 and above from priority groups. The Department's Funding Agreement with Sport England sets a target to increase the proportion of the population engaged in regular physical activity by 1 per cent. per annum, and focuses on developing participation among specific sections of the population, including young people and the most economically disadvantaged groups in society.
	The Equality Standard for Sport, launched last year, is a framework to guide sports and community organisations towards achieving equality. Its aim is to widen access and increase the participation and involvement in sport and physical activity from under-represented individuals, groups, and communities. It will assist organisations in developing structures and processes, assessing performance, and ensuring continuous improvement in equality. Progress through The Standard is a mandatory condition within the national funding agreements involving Sport England, National Governing Bodies of Sport, and national and regional sports organisations in England.

TREASURY

Air Ambulance Charities (Tax)

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax has been collected from air ambulance charities in VAT in respect of pilot costs since January 1989.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise do not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services. The amount of VAT paid by air ambulance charities on pilot costs is therefore unavailable.

Air Ambulance Charities (Tax)

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions Customs and Excise has had with the British Air Ambulance charities with respect to zero rating fuel supplies since January 2004.

John Healey: There is no provision in law for the supply of fuel to charities to be zero-rated for VAT. HM Customs and Excise have, however, met with representatives of British Air Ambulance charities and agreed to review the VAT liability of air ambulances and related supplies.

Congestion Charge

George Osborne: To ask Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme.

Stephen Timms: I refer to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Milburn) on 28 February 2005, Official Report, column 957W. The Treasury has no cars other than those supplied by the Government Car and Dispatch Agency. Where officials incur congestion charges or penalty charges on their own cars used travelling to work or on business, they are personally responsible for meeting the cost.

Research and Development Tax Credits

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value was of research and development tax credits awarded in each year since their introduction, broken down by (a) industry and (b) size of firm.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 2 February 2005, Official Report, column 908W.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Election Participation

Nigel Evans: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how much has been spent by the Commission since 1 February 2004 on measures designed to increase participation by young people at elections.

Peter Viggers: I am informed by the Electoral Commission that young people (18 to 24-year-olds) are the most likely of all age groups not to be registered to vote, and are among the least likely to turn out to vote. A significant element of its public awareness work is therefore aimed at improving voter engagement in this group. The Commission anticipates spending up to £705,000 in the current financial year for programmes aimed at raising young people's awareness of democratic processes in the United Kingdom, and encouraging them to get involved.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Building Regulations

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate his Department has made of the total additional costs to the construction industry of meeting the requirements of the changes to building regulations that are being planned by his Department.

Phil Hope: As part of the consultation process on proposals for amendments to the Buildings Regulations the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister publishes a draft regulatory impact assessment with estimated costs, including where relevant costs to the construction industry, of the various options for change. Until final decisions are taken the costs cannot be regarded as definitive.
	At the moment the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is consulting on proposals to amend Parts F (ventilation) and L (conservation of fuel and power) of the Building Regulations. The consultation documents, including the draft regulatory impact assessments, are available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website www.odpm.gov.uk/building-regulations and in the Library of the House.

Council Tax (Southend)

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council tax payers have registered in Southend in each year since 1997.

Nick Raynsford: Local authorities are not required to maintain or register individuals who are liable for council tax because council tax is a property-based tax.
	Numbers of dwellings in the Southend-on-Sea unitary authority area that were chargeable for council tax purposes are tabled as follows:
	
		
			 November Number 
		
		
			 1997 72,505 
			 1998 72,937 
			 1999 72,900 
			 2000 73,555 
			 2001 73,673 
			 2002 73,671 
			 2003 73,875 
			 2004 74,022 
		
	
	Source:
	CTB1 returns to ODPM

Departmental Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on (a) entertainment lunches involving civil servants and guests and (b) working lunches, in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created following the Machinery of Government changes on 29 May 2002. The information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For spending figures for catering, hospitality and official entertainment, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 1 March 2005, Official Report, column 1124W.

Fire Control Rooms

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his Department's estimate is of the total cost to public funds of delivery of the proposed eight new English regional fire control rooms.

Nick Raynsford: The estimated total net cost to public funds of delivering a national network of nine regional control centres (RCC) for England is approximately £72 million. This covers the costs of setting up the new fire control centres from the start of the project in January 2004 until the last RCC goes live during FY 2008–09.
	This information is drawn from the draft Outline Business Case, which is available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website. This estimates that there will be net annual savings from FY 2009–10 onwards. The project will pay for itself within five years of the last regional control centre going live.

Planning Application (South Devon)

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will call in the Planning Application 17/2235/04/CU Sports Motorbiking in South Devon Area of Outstanding National Beauty granted by South Hams district council on 23 February subject to conditions under a Section 106 Agreement.

Keith Hill: I thank the hon. Member for drawing this to our attention. An Article 14 direction was issued on 1 March 2005 to the local planning authority preventing any decision notice being issued until the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has had an opportunity to look at the application. The hon. Member will be aware that the Government's policy is to leave the control of day-to-day planning matters, as far as possible, in the hands of locally accountable planning authorities. Normally, the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister would intervene and use his powers to 'call in' applications for his own decision only if the issues raised were of regional or national significance. Once papers have been received the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister will be in a position to determine whether he should exercise his power in this case, and take the decision himself, following a public inquiry. To comment now could risk prejudicing the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's future decisions.

Right-to-buy Regulations

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he has made personal calls to housing campaigners regarding changes in the right-to-buy regulations.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister holds no record of any personal calls made by Ministers to housing campaigners regarding changes in the right-to-buy regulations.
	Ministerial colleagues and I have made reference to the changes to the right-to-buy scheme brought about by the Housing Act 2004 on a number of occasions in the fulfilment of relevant speaking engagements since the Act gained Royal Assent. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 31 January 2005, Official Report, column 644W, which dealt with the steps that the Government have taken to alert tenants to these changes to the right-to-buy rules.

CABINET OFFICE

EU Intelligence Sharing and Co-ordination Service

John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 13W, on EU intelligence sharing and co-ordination service, if he will list those documents, with security grading and caveat, that have been supplied to the EU intelligence sharing and co-ordination service by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the Department's policy regarding the nature of departmental material that may be supplied.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe (Mr. McShane) on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 355W.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Asylum Seekers

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the payments and grants made by the Government to each local authority in Northern Ireland to reimburse the costs of supporting asylum seekers in each year from 1996–97.

Angela Smith: The following table details the monies paid by the Government through the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to Health and Social Services (HSS) Trusts to reimburse the costs of supporting asylum seekers since 1996–97 is as follows:
	
		Reimbursement of costs to HSS trusts
		
			  Health and Social Services Trust Amount paid (£) 
		
		
			 1996–97 — 0 
			 1997–98 — 0 
			 1998–99 — 0 
			 1999–2000 — 0 
			 2000–01 — 0 
			
			 2001–02 North and West Belfast Community 37,937.00 
			  South and East Belfast Community 67,649.00 
			  Causeway 2,087.00 
			  Homefirst 3,245.00 
			  Foyle 1,302.00 
			
			 2002–03 North and West Belfast Community 44,644.00 
			  South and East Belfast Community 95,063.00 
			  Causeway 7,972.00 
			  Craigavon and Banbridge Community 2,316.00 
			
			 2003–04 North and West Belfast Community 76,295.00 
			  South and East Belfast Community 176,002.00 
			  Causeway 9,968.00 
			  Homefirst 13,852.00 
			  Foyle 780.00 
			  Ulster community and hospitals 3,169.00 
			
			 2004–05 North and West Belfast Community 33,452.00 
			  South and East Belfast Community 162,255.00 
			  Causeway 10,398.00 
			  Homefirst 7,723.00 
			  Foyle 10,000.00 
			  Ulster community and hospitals 6,686.00

Education Funding

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills regarding funding formulas for schools.

Barry Gardiner: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has not discussed the funding formulas for schools with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.

Ferry Services

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 566W, on ferry services, if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter from his Department's Minister to the Ministers for Transport in the Scottish Executive.

Barry Gardiner: This issue remains the subject of ongoing discussions. It is a policy matter and therefore it would not be appropriate to make available this piece of ministerial correspondence.

Global Point International Business Park

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money has been invested in Global Point International Business Park at Corr's Corner, Newtownabbey; and over what period.

Barry Gardiner: The total investment between 1971 and 2004, including land purchase, is £7.2 million.

Global Point International Business Park

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the main strategic objective is of Global Point International Business Park.

Barry Gardiner: The strategic objective for Global Point is to create a modern quality business park which would be attractive for both inward and indigenous investment.

Global Point International Business Park

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many companies are in discussion with Invest Northern Ireland with a view to locating at Global Point International Business Park.

Barry Gardiner: There are no live negotiations with companies at this time.

Global Point International Business Park

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the first operational company is expected to be located at Global Point International Business Park.

Barry Gardiner: The first operational company is not expected in Global Point International Business Park until the Public Inquiry into the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan is completed.

Hearing Screening Programme

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety moratorium will affect the start date for the newborn hearing screening programme; when he expects the programme to commence; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The moratorium imposed in October 2004 on health and social services boards recruiting new staff was lifted in a letter dated 23 December 2004 from the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to board chief executives.
	Boards and trusts, which have not yet recruited screening and co-ordinator staff, are now in the process of doing so. As a result, the date for full implementation of the neonatal hearing-screening programme, which was 31 March 2005, has slipped to September 2005. However, screening has been introduced in a number of trusts with about one third of babies currently being screened.

Housing

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements are in place to ensure that housing associations under the direction of the Housing Executive reinvest their operation profits back into the provision of housing.

John Spellar: Housing associations are not under the direction of the Housing Executive. They are regulated by the Department for Social Development. As such, they are restricted in their permissible purposes or objects by the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992. They are not for profit organisations and generate reserves from their surpluses and all such reserves have to be employed in the business. Their boards of management are accountable for the stewardship of the reserves and are duty bound to use them effectively in the pursuit of the associations' objectives. Reserves are used to:
	(i) subsidise the development of properties and diversified activities;
	(ii) enable future major repairs requirements to be met;
	(iii) satisfy the loan covenant requirements of lenders, (who often require surpluses to be generated to develop services to meet rising customer expectations); and
	(iv) provide a cushion against uncertainty regarding assumptions in medium to longer term business plans.
	Their expenditure is subject to scrutiny by internal and external auditors, the Department for Social Development and the Northern Ireland Audit Office to ensure that the association's behaviour is proper and regular.

Homelessness (Intimidation)

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action is being taken by the Housing Executive to tackle homelessness caused by sectarian intimidation.

John Spellar: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) assists those who have become homeless as a result of sectarian intimidation by providing temporary accommodation and arranging for storage of possessions, as necessary. If the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) can confirm that intimidation has taken place, the Housing Executive will award the applicant the highest level of priority for re-housing. Owner-occupiers who have become homeless as a result of intimidation have the facility to sell their homes under the Housing Executive's Scheme for the Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings and tenants of rented property are entitled to an emergency grant of £692 when they are re-housed.
	While homelessness caused by sectarian intimidation is not a problem that can be tackled solely by the NIHE, the Housing Executive works, through its Community Cohesion Unit, to prevent such intimidation by promoting good relations between communities. The Housing Executive's strategic objective to promote good relations is linked to the following aims:
	to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of people in danger as a result of community conflict;
	to work in partnership with others to address the complex housing needs of a divided society;
	to respect the rights of people who choose to live in single identity neighbourhoods, and
	to facilitate and encourage integrated housing as far as this is practicable, desirable and safe.

Interface Schools Initiative

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much each school in North Belfast has received under the Interface Schools Initiative in each year since it was introduced.

Barry Gardiner: Additional funds under Interface Programmes have been allocated to schools in North Belfast as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year/Schools £ 
		
		
			 Recurrent funding  
			 2001–02  
			 Holy Cross Girls' Primary 75,000 
			 Wheatfield Primary 46,000 
			   
			 (From December 2001)  
			 Ballysillan Primary 5,000 
			 Cliftonville Primary 5,000 
			 Currie Primary 5,000 
			 Grove Primary 5,000 
			 Holy Cross Boys' Primary 5,000 
			 Holy Family Primary 5,000 
			 Lowood Primary 5,000 
			 Mercy Primary 5,000 
			 Our Lady's Deanby Gardens Primary 5,000 
			 Sacred Heart Primary 5,000 
			 St. Mary's Star of the Sea Primary 5,000 
			 St. Patrick's Primary 5,000 
			   
			 (From March 2002)  
			 Ben Mhadagain Prep 5,000 
			 Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain 5,000 
			 Carr's Glen Primary 5,000 
			 Cavehill Primary 5,000 
			 Cedar Lodge Special Primary 5,000 
			 Edmund Rice (Christian Bros) Primary 5,000 
			 Ligoniel Primary 5,000 
			 Our Lady of Lourdes Primary 5,000 
			 Seaview Primary 5,000 
			 St. Gabriel's College 5,000 
			 St. Therese of Lisieux Primary 5,000 
			 St. Vincent de Paul Primary 5,000 
			 Star of the Sea Girls' Primary 5,000 
			 2002–03  
			 Ballysilian Primary 20,000 
			 Ben Mhadagain Prep 5,000 
			 Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain 20,000 
			 Carr's Glen Primary 20,000 
			 Cavehill Primary 20,000 
			 Cedar Lodge Special Primary 20,000 
			 Cliftonville Primary 20,000 
			 Currie Primary 20,000 
			 Edmund Rice (Christian Bros) Primary 20,000 
			 Grove Primary 20,000 
			 Holy Cross Boys' Primary 20,000 
			 Holy Cross Girls' Primary 185,000 
			 Holy Family Primary 20,000 
			 Ligoniel Primary 20,000 
			 Lowood Primary 20,000 
			 Mercy Primary 20,000 
			 Our Lady of Lourdes Primary 20,000 
			 Our Lady's Deanby Gardens Primary 20,000 
			 Sacred Heart Primary 20,000 
			 St. Gabriel's College 5,000 
			 St. Mary's Star of the Sea Primary 20,000 
			 St. Patrick's Primary 20,000 
			 St. Therese of Lisieux Primary 20,000 
			 St. Vincent de Paul Primary 20,000 
			 Seaview Primary 20,000 
			 Star of the Sea Girls' Primary 20,000 
			 Wheatfield Primary 206,000 
			   
			 2003–04  
			 Ballysilian Primary 5,000 
			 Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain 5,000 
			 Carr' s Glen Primary 5,000 
			 Cavehill Primary 5,000 
			 Cedar Lodge Special Primary 5,000 
			 Cliftonville Primary 5,000 
			 Currie Primary 27,850 
			 Edmund Rice (Christian Bros) Primary 5,000 
			 Grove Primary 5,000 
			 Holy Cross Boys' Primary 5,000 
			 Holy Cross Girls' Primary 127,010 
			 Holy Family Primary 125,000 
			 Ligoniel Primary School 5,000 
			 Lowood Primary 5,000 
			 Mercy Primary 5,000 
			 Our Lady's Deanby Gardens Primary 5,000 
			 Our Lady of Lourdes Primary 5,000 
			 Sacred Heart Primary School 5,000 
			 St. Mary's Star of the Sea Primary 5,000 
			 St. Patrick's Primary 5,000 
			 Sea view Primary 5,000 
			 St. Therese of Lisieux Primary 5,000 
			 St. Vincent de Paul Primary 5,000 
			 Star of the Sea Girls' Primary 5,000 
			 Wheatfield Primary 84,350 
			   
			 2004–05  
			 Currie Primary 37,742 
			 Holy Cross Girls' Primary 91,618 
			 Holy Family Primary 106,083 
			 Ligoniel Primary 10,000 
			 Our Lady of Mercy Secondary 78,500 
			 Wheatfield Primary 88,900 
			   
			 Capital funding  
			 2002–03  
			 Holy Cross Girls' PS—2 buses 120,000 
			 Wheatfield Primary 100,000 
			   
			 2003–04  
			 Currie Primary 37,000 
			 Wheatfield Primary 45,000

Schools (Funding)

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the projected outcome is of the new Common Funding Formula in each school sector in Northern Ireland.

Barry Gardiner: All grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland, covered by the Common Funding Scheme, have now received notification of their budget shares for the 2005–06 financial year. The information on allocations by management sector is shown in the following table:
	
		£000
		
			 Allocations by sector Total funding in 2004–05(6) Total common funding 2005–06(7) 
		
		
			 Education and Library Board—Controlled 350,659 380,830 
			 Education and Library Board—Maintained 318,380 347,753 
			 Voluntary grammar 168,017 182,112 
			 Grant-maintained integrated 38,719 43,205 
			 Total 875,775 953,900 
		
	
	(6) Figures taken from 2004–05 Budget Statements plus the Chancellor's ('Budget Addition') funding
	(7) Figures from Common Funding budget share allocations, including the Budget Addition.

Schools (Funding)

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what procedures he has put in place to measure the educational outcomes of the allocations made under the new Common Funding Formula system.

Barry Gardiner: The introduction of a Common Funding Formula does not change the fundamental principles of local management of schools (LMS) arrangements: that the decisions on the relative priorities and use of allocated funds are taken by principals and governors of schools. What it does is ensure that schools with similar characteristics receive similar levels of funding, regardless of the area or sector in which they are located.
	The Department already uses a wide range of measures of educational outcomes. These measures will continue to be used to inform judgments on educational priorities and the allocation and distribution of resources.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Information Technology

Mark Oaten: To ask the Solicitor-General how the £600 million set aside for case management information technology in the Crown Prosecution Service referred to in the document Justice For All (2002) has been spent.

Harriet Harman: The £600 million in paragraph 9.47 of the White Paper Justice for All", was allocated for modernisation of all Criminal Justice System information technology, not for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) alone. The CPS has paid £56.41 million since 1 January 2002 under its 10-year public finance initiative for its Case Management System COMPASS and for legacy system support.
	COMPASS was delivered on time, to specification and within budget. It has improved the way the Crown Prosecution Service works by:
	reducing paper handling, increasing focus on operational priorities;
	providing an infrastructure which facilitates enhanced communication with other criminal justice agencies.
	Over two million cases are registered on COMPASS with over 4,000 users accessing the system daily. It has delivered its contribution to the CJS IT targets and is the IT system selected to support the No Witness, No Justice initiative.

TRANSPORT

A74 (Improvement Scheme)

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the projected costs of the road improvement scheme for the A74 from Carlisle to Guardsmill were in 1998–99; and what the latest estimate is of the costs.

David Jamieson: The projected total outturn cost for the original scheme, as designed in 1998–99 was approximately £50 million. That scheme was substantially redesigned to include replacement of the Mossband viaduct. The latest projected total outturn cost for the redesigned scheme is approximately £174 million, including allowances for risk and inflation which were not reflected in the 1998–99 estimate.

Crossrail

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the Superlink proposals for connecting Crossrail to other networks in the South East, with particular reference to Guildford station.

Tony McNulty: The environmental statement deposited with the hybrid Crossrail Bill contains details of the analysis that has been undertaken of the Superlink proposals. In summary, we have concluded that Superlink presented significant operational, environmental and consent risks, that it did not appear consistent with planning policies for the South East, and that its costs appeared to be underestimated. We are confident that the scheme in the Crossrail Bill is the best way forward.

Driving Instruction

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent in each of the last 10 years to promote and provide information about Pass Plus courses to (a) newly qualified drivers and (b) those who apply for a provisional driving licence; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Driving Standards Agency receives around £22,000 per year in contributions donated by members of the Association of British Insurers.
	This budget, along with the money generated from selling Pass Plus packs and re-fill packs, is used for printing leaflets which are distributed to road safety officers, driving test centres and universities and are available at major events. The Agency does not directly target provisional and newly qualified drivers.
	The budget for printing takes into account the cost of having the packs and certificates printed as well as any promotional leaflets. The Agency is unable to extrapolate figures solely for advertising.

Gaelic Language

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is on the use of the Gaelic language; and what plans his Department has to prepare and implement a Gaelic language scheme.

Charlotte Atkins: Action to support the Gaelic language is primarily the responsibility of the Scottish Executive.
	The Government attach great importance to the promotion and protection of the Gaelic language in line with the UK's obligations under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.
	The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill currently before the Scottish Parliament does not extend statutory obligations on UK public bodies in Scotland in relation to the preparation or implementation of Gaelic language plans. However, UK departments and public bodies which operate in Scotland may—like comparable Scottish public bodies—have a role to play in facilitating the use of the language.
	We have been working closely with colleagues in the Scotland Office and the Scottish Executive on the role we can play, voluntarily, in securing the status of Gaelic.

Hauliers (Working Time Restrictions)

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that hauliers employing non-EU nationals operating in the UK comply with working time restrictions.

David Jamieson: Any mobile workers employed by UK hauliers will be subject to the new working time rules, regardless of their nationality. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency will be responsible for enforcement of the new rules.

Newly-qualified Drivers

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has conducted into the driving performance of newly-qualified drivers; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Details of the Department's programme of research on driver behaviour can be found on-line in the Compendium of Road Safety Research Projects 2002/2003" at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/page/dft_rdsafety_022211 .hcsp.
	A number of projects have established that newly qualified drivers have a higher risk of collisions than older, more experienced drivers. Relevant research published recently includes:
	Monitoring and evaluation of safety measures for new drivers" (TRL525) published in 2002 (www.trl.co.uk/static/dtlr/pdfs/TRL525.pdf);
	Novice driver accidents and the driving test" (TRL527) published in 2002 (www.trl.co.uk/static/dtlr/pdfs/TRL527.pdf); and
	In-depth accident causation study of young drivers" (TRL542) published in 2002 (www.trl.co.uk/static/dtlr/pdfs/TRL542.pdf).
	Copies of these documents are available in the Libraries of the House.
	The Department also has under way a Cohort Study of Young and Novice Drivers" looking at the methods used by learners to organise their training and the results of that training in terms of test outcome, accidents and attitudes, aimed at further improving standards of new drivers'. The study updates and extends an earlier Cohort Study, carried out in the late 1980s, and the results will begin to be published from autumn 2005.

Postage

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on postage by the Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997.

Charlotte Atkins: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002.
	The recorded cost of postage in the central Department comprising DfT HQ in London and Hastings, the Air Accidents and Marine Accident Investigation Branches and Mobility Advice and Vehicle Information Service was £926,772 in 2003–04 and in 2004–05 (until 31 January 2005) £576,246. Comprehensive postal costs for 2002–03 are not available as the costs allocated against DfT were affected by the machinery of government changes during that year and do not provide an accurate picture of departmental postal activity.
	For the six Departmental Agencies the total costs were £15,992,915 in 2002–03 and £18,819,755 in 2003–04. The majority of these costs (84 per cent. in 2002–03 and 83 per cent. in 2003–04) were incurred by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in the course of their business.
	The costs set out include general postage items such as standard postal charges, franking units, business reply post, and courier services etc. However, there may be other postal costs relating to mailing arrangements set up by individual units for a specific purpose such as distributing reports or other information which are not covered in the figures given but to identify these separately would involve disproportionate cost.
	In terms of using postal services the Department's approach towards using postal services is to employ the most economical and effective arrangements that are conducive to meeting both business and customer needs.

Public Consultations

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the public consultations undertaken by his Department and its predecessors since 1997.

Alistair Darling: The Department consults widely with stakeholders and customers to assist in policy development. Since it was established in May 2002 the Department has made written consultations available on its website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_consultation_page. hcsp
	Current and closed consultations can be accessed from this site.
	Consultations are also undertaken by the Department's Executive Agencies and can be found on their own websites:
	Driving Standards Agency (DSA)
	http://www. dsa.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=328
	Highways Agency(HA):
	http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/consult.htm
	In addition to these consultations the Highways Agency consults on Road schemes. Details of these can be found on the Road Projects section of their site:
	http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/
	Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)
	http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-guidance-regulation/mcga-consultations.htm
	Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)
	http://www. vosa.gov.uk/vosa/consultations/consultations.htm
	Vehicle Certification Agency (VGA)
	All consultations relate to Departmental initiatives and as such are included on the Department site.
	Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
	http://www. dvla.gov.uk/public/corporat.htm
	The DVLA website is being restructured so not all consultations are currently available. A list of all consultations since May 2002 is included in the following list:
	Consultations conducted by DVLA since May 2002
	Exchange of Republic of Korea driving licences
	Future of driver licensing arrangements for drivers of invalid carriages (NHS trikes)
	Reducing motorcycle evasion of vehicle excise duty (VED)
	Consultation on a harmonised vehicle registration document
	DVLA consultation on fee proposals—driving licences and vehicle registration
	DVLA consultation on fee proposals—driving licences and vehicle registration (follow up consultation)
	The establishment of a trading fund
	Consultation on Vehicle Number Plate Security
	International driving permit fees and driving licence charges
	Consultation on regulating the supply of number plates in Northern Ireland
	The future of the counterpart to the photocard driving licence
	Consultation on fees for the issue of digital tachograph cards
	Review of the registration of number plate suppliers—10 December 2004 Purpose and scope
	DVLA/Driver Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI) consultation document on the convenience charge for credit card payments of vehicle excise duty (VED)
	DVLA consultation on fee proposals
	DVLA consultation on access to goods vehicle test record database for purposes of vehicle relicensing
	A review of the vehicle inspection procedures of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland

Road Haulage Industry

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of prospects for the road haulage industry.

David Jamieson: The Government have undertaken no formal assessment of prospects for the road haulage industry. But continued demand for drivers and waiting lists for new trucks suggests that the industry is buoyant and with the continued strong performance of the UK economy the prospects for the road haulage industry should be very good.

Road Haulage Industry

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met representatives of the Road Haulage Association.

David Jamieson: I last met representatives of the Road Haulage Association at the road haulage forum meeting on 9 December 2004.

Road Haulage Industry

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken (a) to reduce regulation in the road haulage industry and (b) to reduce on-costs on road haulage client businesses; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Much of my Department's activity is non-regulatory. We have a significant programme of research into best practice, and we disseminate this knowledge to the industry. The last impact assessment concluded that companies involved achieved annual savings of £65 million of which £42 million was attributed to the best practice programme.
	In the last two years we have funded a major programme to train truck drivers to drive in a more fuel-efficient way. Savings of up to 9 per cent. are possible on fuel bills, typically worth £2,100 per year per driver. We have funded a similar programme to advise on fuel-efficient operating practices, for example advice on aerodynamic equipment and tyres that optimise fuel-consumption. Again substantial fuel and cost savings have been shown to be possible.
	We will be consulting later in the year on proposals to streamline the operator licensing system, building on the successful computerisation for the Traffic Area Network, which is already saving time and money for both operators and Government.
	Our Road Safety Bill contains proposals for a system of graduated fixed penalties for offences relating to the operation of commercial vehicles, and a deposit scheme to ensure hauliers from abroad who commit offences to not escape unpunished, as happens too often now. This will provide a more effective deterrent to those who compete unfairly by operating outside the law, to the benefit of legal operators.

South Hampshire Rapid Transit Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2005, Official Report, column 36W, on South Hampshire Rapid Transit Project, what his timetable is for dealing with the application when the necessary documentation is received.

Tony McNulty: The Department is currently working closely with the promoters of South Hampshire Rapid Transit on the appraisal, procurement and financing aspects of the application. Once the Department has received all of the necessary information, a decision will be made as soon as possible.

Strategic Rail Authority

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the Function Mapping Report and Directorate Capability statements commissioned by his Department on Strategic Rail Authority responsibilities.

Tony McNulty: The Department commissioned a report from KPMG on SRA and DfT Rail functions and business activities. The report was concluded in July 2004, and since then the SRA has re-organised. I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.

Street Works

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 214W, on street works, if he will place in the Library copies of the documents to which reference is made.

Charlotte Atkins: Copies of the report Estimation of the Cost of Delay from Utilities' Street Works", carried out for the Department for Transport by Halcrow, were placed in the Libraries of the House on 14 October 2004.
	Copies of a report carried out for the National Joint Utilities Group on the same subject can be found at: http://www.transport.uwe.ac.uk/research/projects/njug-congestion.htm.

Working Time Directive

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish the regulations implementing the Working Time Directive for Transport.

David Jamieson: I expect to be able to table the implementing regulations before Parliament very shortly.

Working Time Directive

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received about the implementation of the road transport working time directive; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Following our consultation on the draft implementing regulations and guidance we received over 50 responses. I will shortly be announcing the Government's conclusions following the consultation, together with a summary of the responses received.

Working Time Directive

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the road transport working time directive is being incorporated in domestic law.

David Jamieson: Unlike EU regulations, which are directly applicable, EU directives are addressed to member states, and it is for member states to transpose the legislation into national law.

Working Time Directive

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the road transport working time directive on road safety.

David Jamieson: Our partial regulatory impact assessment, published alongside our consultation, estimated the road safety benefits of the directive, in terms of accident costs avoided, at between £15–30 million per year.

Working Time Directive

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of the road transport working time directive on the profitability of (a) road haulage firms and (b) road haulage client businesses.

David Jamieson: Our partial regulatory impact assessment, published alongside our consultation, estimated the costs to road haulage firms, in terms of need for additional staff costs of between £250-£500 million per year. No judgments were made about how much of this cost would be passed on to client business. Nor has any quantification been made of the possible commercial benefits of the directive, for example in reduced costs from lower driver turnover if the directive makes the job more attractive.

DEFENCE

BAE Systems/Finmeccanica

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether the proposed restructuring of BAE Systems and Finmeccanica may lead to the loss of key technologies and classified information from the UK.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 1 March 2005
	BAE Systems and Finmeccanica's proposed restructuring of their communications, avionics and system integration businesses (Eurosystems) is currently being considered by the Regulator (Office of Fair Trading (OFT)). The Ministry of Defence's submission on the proposed restructuring has been passed to the OFT. The submission seeks to ensure that our national security interests are protected as a result of the restructuring.

Departmental Finances

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force Institute accounts for financial years 1997–98 to 2003–04.

Adam Ingram: Arrangements will be made for a copy of these, and future annual Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) Accounts, to be placed in the Library of the House.

Dyslexia

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of personnel in each of the armed services have been diagnosed with dyslexia; what studies have been undertaken to investigate the (a) welfare and (b) operational impact of dyslexics in the armed forces; and what special measures are available to (i) identify and (ii) assist soldiers who may be dyslexic.

Ivor Caplin: The armed forces do not screen recruits for dyslexia, nor are personnel obliged to disclose that they are dyslexic. Nonetheless, dyslexia may emerge during initial training or in service; 394 RN and 144 RAF personnel have been identified. The Army intends in the future to capture the number of dyslexic learners receiving support.
	While no studies have been undertaken to investigate the welfare and operational impact of dyslexics in the armed forces, every service unit has access to guidance on dyslexia. All three services have specialists which administer the dyslexia adult screening test (DAST) to assess personnel once an instructor or trainee, line manager or member of the services suspect dyslexia. The DAST result will determine whether further specialist assessment by an educational psychologist is required and also provide a profile of strengths and weaknesses which will support the remedial training programme.
	The armed forces assist personnel with dyslexia during their training and throughout their service career; for example, dyslexic personnel can attend funded training at local colleges. As a result of assessment, extra time may be given in some service examinations with the approval of the appropriate examination authority. Notwithstanding this allowance, all service personnel must achieve the training performance standard. Following learning support, if an individual is unable to meet the operational performance standard they will, where possible, be retrained or moved to another trade.

Falklands Anniversary

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 117W, on the Falklands anniversary, if his Department will have talks with the Royal British Legion concerning the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War.

Ivor Caplin: I should be happy to meet representatives of The Royal British Legion, but to date they have expressed no wish for a meeting.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for the role of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy in Gibraltar; and what spending plans there are for each service's role in Gibraltar.

Adam Ingram: Plans for the role of the armed forces in Gibraltar are unchanged. Commander British Forces' mission is to secure and maintain key sites and air and sea ports of disembarkation, which allow reinforcement, in order to ensure Gibraltar's security and territorial integrity, and provide staging and mounting facilities for UK and coalition operations elsewhere. Cascading from this, the Royal Navy's role, in conjunction with the Royal Gibraltar police, is to maintain the security and integrity of British Territorial Waters with a visible maritime presence.
	The Royal Gibraltar Regiment contributes to the protection of key facilities in Gibraltar and provides immediate military support to the governor. The RAF's role is to sustain the airfield and associated facilities as an operational airhead, and to facilitate the safe use of the airfield by civilian operators. Linked together, these components provide a collective capability that, together with other local agencies, is charged with providing for the defence and security of Gibraltar. This also provides the capacity for British armed forces to use Gibraltar in support of other operations outside of the territory.
	As a result of a recent review into its structure and tasks, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment will be reconfigured, resulting in a small increase in regular soldiers.
	Future spending plans have not yet been set. We have yet to complete our planning round and the budget will be set in due course.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much land in Gibraltar is held by his Department; and what plans he has for such landholding.

Adam Ingram: As at 25 February 2005, British Forces Gibraltar hold 153.364 Hectares. Once the transfer of land to the Government of Gibraltar under the Lands Agreement is complete, British Forces Gibraltar will hold 119.43 hectares. In addition, the Government of Gibraltar has asked for a further 0.363 hectares for their new power station and the land at Windmill Hill parade ground. This land will be transferred to the Government of Gibraltar in due course, in accordance with the Land Transfer Agreement.
	The 119.43 hectares of land that the Commander British Forces Gibraltar will retain following the transfer of land under the lands agreement, will be used to fulfil Commander British Forces Gibraltar's mission. His mission is to secure and maintain key sites and air and sea ports of disembarkation, which allow reinforcement, in order to ensure Gibraltar's security and territorial integrity, and provide staging and mounting facilities for UK and coalition operations elsewhere.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) date and (b) nature was of each of the occasions, which are not currently before a court or a court martial but for which investigations have been launched into incidents where the actions of UK service personnel may have led directly to the death or injury of Iraqi civilians; what the status is of each investigation; what the name of the victim was in incidents where the victim is deceased; how many officers were reported or charged in connection with the incident; whether compensation or ex gratia payments were made in connection with the incident; and in relation to which of these incidents there is evidence of the deliberate abuse of Iraqis in British military custody.

Adam Ingram: As at 21 February 2005, 164 investigations had been launched into the death, injury or alleged abuse of Iraqi civilians. The majority of these incidents occurred when UK forces returned fire after being attacked. The information requested is shown in a table which has been placed in the Library and excludes those cases which are currently or have recently been before a Court-Martial. Ex gratia payments were made in three cases, those of Waleed Sayay Muzban, Baha Musa and Hanan Matrud.

Maritime Coherence Study

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the purpose is of the Maritime Coherence Study; who has been commissioned to write it; when he expects it to be published; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames) on 23 February 2005, Official Report, column 655W.

Military Bands

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military bands in (a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Army, (c) the Royal Air Force and (d) the Royal Marines are fully funded by his Department.

Ivor Caplin: The information requested is shown as follows:
	
		
			 Service Number of bands 
		
		
			 Royal Navy 0 
			 Army 29 
			 RAF 3 
			 Royal Marines 5 
		
	
	I also refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence made to the House on 16 December 2004, Official Report, column 1799, about the future structure of the Army.

Military Museums

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which military museums the Department makes grants; and how much the grant for each was in the last year for which figures are available.

Ivor Caplin: The Department provides grant in aid funding for the six principal service museums, detailed for financial year 2003–04 in the following table. In addition, there are 66 regimental and corps museums that receive public funding, through the provision of staff costs, property maintenance, etc.
	
		Funding from Department financial year 2003–04 
		
			 Museum £ million 
		
		
			 Royal Naval Museum 0.923 
			 Royal Marines Museum 0.689 
			 Royal Navy Submarine Museum 0.510 
			 Fleet Air Arm Museum 0.556 
			 National Army Museum 4.442 
			 RAF Museum 6.811

Near Air Misses (Worcestershire)

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the number of near air misses between RAF aircraft and the Air Ambulance helicopters at Strensham, Worcestershire.

Ivor Caplin: There have been two airprox reports made to the Civil Aviation Authority's UK Airprox Board concerning incidents near Strensham Heliport on 14 December 2004 and 9 February 2005. It would be inappropriate to comment while the investigations into these incidents are still in progress.

Orion Laser Programme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he is taking to ensure that the proposed Orion Laser programme at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston does not contravene Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Adam Ingram: A key objective of the proposed Orion Laser project is to have the ability to conduct our nuclear warhead assurance programme in compliance with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the project will achieve this. The use of the Orion Laser would not conflict with Article VI of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty.

Procurement Costs

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current forecast cost is of the (a) Nimrod MRA4 and (b) Type 45 destroyer projects.

Adam Ingram: The current forecast cost for the procurement of 12 Nimrod MRA4 aircraft as provided in Major Project Report 04 is £3.6 billion. The current forecast cost of the Type 45 Destroyer project is £5.8 billion based on the approved six ship programme.

Reservists

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists were deployed overseas as at 1 February, broken down by country.

Ivor Caplin: As at 1 February 2005 the number of Reservists deployed overseas by country was:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Afghanistan 31 
			 Bahrain 1 
			 Bosnia 69 
			 Cyprus 2 
			 Dubai 3 
			 Iraq 811 
			 Kosovo 11 
			 Kuwait -1 
			 Netherlands -1 
			 Oman -3 
			 Qatar -6

Reservists

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists have been sent overseas without an annual classification on personal weapons in the last 12 months.

Ivor Caplin: No reservists have been deployed overseas without a Weapons Handling Test.

Shoeburyness Ranges

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of (a) contamination which may have occurred as a result of the work carried out for the original nuclear weapons programme at the Shoeburyness ranges and (b) residual radioactive contamination at the site.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has just started a land quality assessment (LQA) of the entire site at Shoeburyness, which will include areas formerly used for research in support of the development of nuclear weapons. The LQA process is a step-by-step investigation into historic contamination and, as they become known, the results will be made available to the public. The initial report should be available by May, although it is likely that, at that stage, the report will simply highlight areas where more intrusive investigations will be required.

Tornado

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for defence of the Tornado aircraft from missile attack of not fitting the Tornado advanced self-protection system.

Adam Ingram: Full operational analysis is conducted when evaluating the military requirement and considering future equipment capability. The Tornado GR4 relies for its protection on a combination of defensive aids and use of appropriate tactics, concepts of operation and employment appropriate to the threat.

Trafalgar Submarines

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many of the Trafalgar class nuclear powered submarines are in active service and at sea;
	(2)  how many of the Trafalgar class submarines are in dock for (a) scheduled repairs and (b) refuelling;
	(3)  how many of the Trafalgar class submarines are not in service (a) undergoing and (b) awaiting unscheduled (i) inspection and (ii) repairs;
	(4)  what the nature is of the defect in the nuclear propulsion system of those Trafalgar class submarines undergoing (a) inspection and (b) repair; and when the boats of the Trafalgar class flotilla will be back to normal operating strength.

Adam Ingram: There are seven Trafalgar Class submarines in active service of which four are currently available for FLEET programming. Of the remaining boats, two are in dock: one is undergoing a scheduled Long Overhaul Period, which includes a refuel (LOP(R)) and the other is undergoing a scheduled Revalidation and Assisted Maintenance Period (RAMP). A further boat is awaiting the start of Her LOP(R).
	Two boats are currently subject to unscheduled operating restrictions, due to an emergent issue that was identified during routine reviews of their safety cases. Further safety justification work is under way and, while there has been no failure of components, until a robust safety case has been re-established the safest course of action is to limit their operation.
	For the purposes of FLEET programming, no distinction is made between the Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class submarines. Consequently, there is not actually a full operating strength for the Trafalgar Class. A generic SSN Readiness Profile is used, but to release details of this would prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the SSN force, so this data is being withheld under exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Basic Skills

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will deposit in the Library a copy of her Department's segmentation of the market for basic skills.

Ivan Lewis: In 2003 the Department published the Skills for Life Survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills" (DfES, October 2003). The survey provides the latest estimates [mapped to the National Standards] of literacy, numeracy and ICT levels for adults aged 16 to 65 in England.
	While the Skills for Life programme offers high quality, free learning opportunities to all adults who want to improve their skills to Level 2, the survey findings have helped the Department to identify and target some key groups with low skills, including: unemployed people and benefit claimants; low-skilled people in employment; young adults who leave school and begin work with low skills; parents with low skills; and people who live in disadvantaged communities.
	A copy of the survey report has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Departmental Policies

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon, Central constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on the Croydon, Central constituency.

Stephen Twigg: The Croydon, Central constituency lies within Croydon local education authority. The most recent Key Stage 2 and GCSE and equivalents Achievement for pupils attending schools in Croydon, Central are given in the following tables:
	
		Key Stage 2 Achievements of 11-year-old pupils attending schools in the Croydon, Central constituency -- Percentage of pupils gaining level 4 and above
		
			  1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997 to 2004 
		
		
			 Croydon, Central  
			 English(8) 60 79 19 
			 Maths(8) 58 70 12 
			 National average  
			 English(9) 63 78 15 
			 Maths(9) 61 74 13 
		
	
	(8)Pupils attending schools in Croydon, Central constituency
	(9)The average for all schools in England (including independent schools)
	
		GCSE and equivalents(10) Achievement of 15-year-old pupils(11) attending schools in the Rochdale constituency
		
			 Percentage of 15-year-olds gaining 1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 
		
		
			 Croydon, Central  
			 5+ A*–C 38.8 46.5 7.7 
			 5+ A*–G 81.4 90.1 8.7 
			 National average  
			 5+ A*–C 45.1 53.7 8.6 
			 5+ A*–G 87.0 88.8 1.8 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.For 2004 only results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
	2.As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.
	At national level, standards have improved across all key stages. The Primary and Key Stage 3 National Strategies, together with the measures we have taken to help schools in the toughest areas are continuing to deliver better results.
	Further information by constituency, is provided within the Department's 'In Your Area' website available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea. Where information is not available at the constituency level it has been provided at local education authority level.
	This website allows users to access key facts and local information about education and skills based on postcodes. The data available within the site offers comparisons between 1997 and the latest available year and covers five geographies. These are parliamentary constituency, ward, local authority district, local education authority, Government office region. England figures are also provided.
	The information available within the website is grouped in a number of broad categories including Literacy and Numeracy at age 11, Literacy and Numeracy at age 14, GCSE/GNVQ results, Pupils with Special Educational Needs, School Initiatives, School Workforce, School Funding and Resources, Children's Social Services, Early Years, Class Sizes, Post 16, Higher Education and Adult Education
	Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, my Department is investigating ways in which we can disseminate more information about the effects of our policies at a local level. The In Your Area website will be further developed over the coming months to include additional information about Adult Education, School Funding, School Initiatives, School Performance, School Workforce and Post 16.

Drug Awareness (Essex)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers who specialise in drug awareness and prevention are currently employed in Romford and Havering constituency schools.

Stephen Twigg: The information is not collected centrally.

Teaching Staff

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) learning assistants there were in Battersea secondary schools on the latest date for which figures are available.

Stephen Twigg: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teachers and learning assistants in maintained secondary schools in Battersea in January 2004, the latest information available.
	
		Maintained secondary schools
		
			 Battersea Number 
		
		
			 Qualified teachers 80 
			 Other teaching staff 10 
			 Total teaching staff 80 
			 Teaching assistants (10)— 
			 Other support staff 30 
			 Total support staff 30 
		
	
	(10)Less than 5.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Annual school census.

Teaching Staff

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) classroom assistants have been employed in the Hartlepool constituency in each year since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of regular teachers and classroom assistants in maintained schools in Hartlepool constituency in each year from January 1997 to 2004, the latest information available.
	
		
			  Regular staff Teaching Assistants Other support staff Total support staff 
		
		
			 1997 840 100 110 210 
			 1998 810 110 120 230 
			 1999 800 120 120 240 
			 2000 820 140 140 280 
			 2001 840 210 160 370 
			 2002 850 140 340 470 
			 2003 840 260 270 530 
			 2004 850 250 300 550 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	DfES annual survey of teacher numbers and vacancies, (teacher numbers) and Annual School Census, (teaching assistants and support staff).
	Teaching assistants and other support staff include maintained and non-maintained special schools.

Education Funding

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the reasons are for the funding gap between school sixth forms and further education colleges in the Bracknell constituency; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: As a direct consequence of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act and the removal of the incorporated FE sector funding systems from local authority control, there was a divergence from local authority systems which has resulted in funding level differences. These differences were made more apparent when all post 16 funding became the responsibility of the Learning and Skills Council in 2001.
	The Government recognises that there is a funding gap between school sixth forms and further education colleges in the resources provided for students aged 16 to 18 following similar programmes. Our policy has been to 'bring up' the level of funding for colleges, as and when we are able to secure the resources to do so.

Essex Students

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information she has collated on the percentage of Essex county's 17 to 18-year-olds who go on to attend university.

Kim Howells: The most recent information shows the proportion of 18-year-olds from local education authorities within Essex county who obtained places on full-time higher education courses via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), and this is shown in the table.
	
		Proportion of students aged 18 from Essex county accepted through UCAS to full-time undergraduate courses in the UK, 2003/04
		
			 Local education authority: Percentage 
		
		
			 Essex 23.1 
			 Thurrock 10.9 
			 Southend-on-Sea 19.6 
		
	
	In addition, HEFCE have recently published 'Young participation in Higher Education', which shows the proportion of young people who enter higher education at age 18 or 19 by local areas, although this only covers the years up to 2000.
	Participation rates for local authorities based on this work are given on the supporting POLAR website www.hefce.ac.uk/polar. These indicate that, for the cohorts reaching 18 between 1997 and 1999, the proportion of young people from the LEAs in Essex county who entered higher education at age 18 or 19 was 27 per cent. in Essex, 24 per cent. in Southend-on-Sea and 14 per cent. in Thurrock. The English average for these cohorts is 29 per cent.

Extended Schools

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on (a) extended schools and (b) the Government's proposal to have at least one such school in each local area by 2006.

Stephen Twigg: This Government are committed to the creation of at least one 'full service' extended school in each local area by 2006. Over time, however, we want all schools to become extended schools. Our Five-year Strategy for Children and Learners outlines the core offer of extended services that we expect all schools to develop, in partnership with other children's services and the voluntary and community sectors. Our 10 year strategy for child care states that by 2010 all secondary schools will be open from 5am to 6pm all year round, offering a range of activities such as music, sport, and holiday activities. Many schools already offer some activities, recognising the benefits that extended services provide for children, their families, local communities and schools themselves. We are supporting the development of extended schools with both advice and funding including, from April this year, £107 million through all local education authorities in England.

Fair Access

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list (a) the universities and (b) secondary schools which have been visited by (i)the Director General of the Office for Fair Access and (ii) other members of her staff.

Kim Howells: The Director of Fair Access and his staff have met or spoken with numerous institutions and sector bodies since OFFA was established in October 2004. In particular, a series of OFFA seminars were attended by most higher education institutions, and meetings have taken place with representative bodies, including Universities UK, the Standing Conference of Principals, the Association of Colleges, the Independent Schools Council, and the Secondary Heads Association.

Foreign Students

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from EU accession countries have obtained places at London universities in each year since 1997.

Kim Howells: The available information on undergraduate entrants is taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record and figures are given in the table.
	
		EU accession country(11) domiciled undergraduate entrants at London HE institutions(12)1997/98 to 2003/04
		
			 Academic year Entrants to London HE institutions 
		
		
			 1997/98 360 
			 1998/99 345 
			 1999/2000 430 
			 2000/01 420 
			 2001/02 475 
			 2002/03 430 
			 2003/04 535 
		
	
	(11)Includes Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia.
	(12)Figures exclude the OU.
	Note:
	Snapshot as at 1 December and figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Freedom of Information

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2005, Official Report, columns 855–56W, on Freedom of Information, what progress has been made by the Office for Fair Access in preparing a publication scheme under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act have been (a) received and (b) responded to by the Office for Fair Access.

Kim Howells: The Office for Fair Access has a draft publication scheme which it expects to submit in March 2005 to the Information Commissioner. OFFA has to date received two requests under the Freedom of Information Act, and has responded to one of them.

Girls' Schools (Sixth-form Boys)

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many representations her Department received during January 2004 requesting information and advice on making applications to the admissions forum for the admission of boys to the sixth-form of a girls' school; if she will list them; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department did not receive any representations on this matter during January 2004. Decisions to admit boys to the sixth-form of a girls' school are made locally and do not involve the Secretary of State.
	If a single-sex maintained school wishes to admit pupils of the opposite sex to the school's sixth-form, it must publish statutory proposals if the number of these pupils would exceed 25 per cent. of the year group. A final decision on the statutory proposals would be for the local School Organisation Committee (SOC) or, if the SOC could not reach a unanimous decision, the schools adjudicator. If statutory proposals were not required it would then be for the admission authority—either the school's governing body or the local authority—to decide, taking into account all relevant legislation and having regard to the school admissions code of practice and any advice given by the admissions forum.

Maths and Science

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many higher education institutions offered (a) mathematics (b) physics, (c) biology and (d) chemistry-related degrees in each of the last 10 years.

Kim Howells: holding answer 28 February 2005
	The Department does not specifically collect information on the subjects offered by each HE institution. The available information is taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record and summarises the number of HE institutions with one or more enrolments at degree level in the given subject. Figures are given in the table.
	
		Number of UK HEIs(13) with one or more first degree enrolment in the given subjects, 1994/95 to 2003/04
		
			   Physical sciences(14) 
			Of which: 
			 Academic year Mathematical sciences Total Physics Chemistry 
		
		
			 1994/95 90 113 68 83 
			 1995/96 92 115 69 85 
			 1996/97 95 116 68 81 
			 1997/98 97 117 67 78 
			 1998/99 99 115 66 78 
			 1999/2000 95 115 61 77 
			 2000/01 96 115 57 78 
			 2001/02 93 115 55 75 
			 2002/03(15) 107 119 64 83 
			 2003/04(15) 108 120 68 82 
		
	
	(13)Figures exclude the Open University.
	(14)Physical sciences includes chemistry, materials science, physics, astronomy, forensic and archaeological studies, geology, ocean sciences and physical geography.
	(15)Figures for the years up to and including 2001/02 are the number of institutions with one or more first degree enrolment in the subject, based upon a headcount of the students major subject of study. For 2002/03 onwards, the figures are the number of institutions based on a count of students who have been allocated between subjects according to the split between the component parts of their degree. Because of this coverage, the figures for 2002/03 and 2003/04 are not comparable to earlier years.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
	
		Number of UK HEIs(16) with one or more first degree enrolment in the given subjects, 1994/95 to 2003/04
		
			  Biological sciences(17) 
			 Academic year Total Of which: biology All subjects 
		
		
			 1994/95 114 88 174 
			 1995/96 116 90 173 
			 1996/97 119 90 170 
			 1997/98 119 91 169 
			 1998/99 117 91 164 
			 1999/2000 117 94 164 
			 2000/01 113 96 162 
			 2001/02 114 95 165 
			 2002/03(18) 122 104 165 
			 2003/04(18) 123 111 164 
		
	
	(16)Figures exclude the Open University.
	(17)Biological sciences includes biology, botany, zoology, genetics, microbiology, sports science, molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry and psychology.
	(18)Figures for the years up to and including 2001/02 are the number of institutions with one or more first degree enrolment in the subject, based upon a headcount of the students major subject of study. For 2002/03 onwards, the figures are the number of institutions based on a count of students who have been allocated between subjects according to the split between the component parts of their degree. Because of this coverage, the figures for 2002/03 and 2003/04 are not comparable to earlier years.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Maths and Science

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total number of students studying (a) mathematics (b) physics, (c) biology and (d) chemistry-related degrees was in each of the last 10 years.

Kim Howells: holding answer 28 February 2005
	The available information is given in the table. A new method of coding subject was introduced on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record in 2002/03, hence figures for 2002/03 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years.
	
		First degree enrolments to UK HEIs(19), 1994/95 to 2003/04
		
			   Physical sciences(20) 
			Of which: 
			 Academic year Mathematical sciences Total Physics Chemistry 
		
		
			 1994/95 15,200 51,730 9,470 15,115 
			 1995/96 14,875 51,930 9,365 14,730 
			 1996/97 15,240 51,915 9,915 14,520 
			 1997/98 15,990 50,725 9,645 14,325 
			 1998/99 15,675 50,220 9,710 14,315 
			 1999/2000 15,635 49,115 9,435 13,615 
			 2000/01 16,090 47,615 9,210 12,755 
			 2001/02 16,190 45,435 8,855 12,160 
			 2002/03(21) 19,690 48,975 9,185 12,200 
			 2003/04(21) 19,810 48,990 9,585 11,815 
		
	
	(19)Figures exclude the Open University to maintain a consistent time series.
	(20)Physical sciences includes chemistry, materials science, physics, astronomy, forensic and archaeological studies, geology, ocean sciences and physical geography.
	(21)Figures are not comparable to earlier years due to a change in the coding methodology for subject of study in 2002/03.
	Note:
	Figures are on snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
	
		First degree enrolments to UK HEIs(22), 1994/95 to 2003/04
		
			  Biological sciences(23) 
			 Academic year Total Of which: biology All subjects 
		
		
			 1994/95 49,820 16,880 915,965 
			 1995/96 54,075 17,190 949,865 
			 1996/97 60,265 17,755 968,875 
			 1997/98 65,930 17,100 989,110 
			 1998/99 66,550 17,285 1,001,765 
			 1999/2000 67,625 16,965 1,000,210 
			 2000/01 69,235 16,790 1,023,140 
			 2001/02 70,100 15,985 1,054,390 
			 2002/03(24) 95,340 17,995 1,095,615 
			 2003/04(24) 99,525 18,200 1,131,870 
		
	
	(22)Figures exclude the Open University to maintain a consistent time series.
	(23)Biological sciences includes biology, botany, zoology, genetics, microbiology, sports science, molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry and psychology.
	(24)Figures are not comparable to earlier years due to a change in the coding methodology for subject of study in 2002/03.
	Note:
	Figures are on snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Higher Education

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the rate of participation by 18-year-olds in higher education in each region in England was in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05.

Kim Howells: The latest information shows the proportion of 18-year-olds from each region who obtained places on full-time higher education courses via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), and this is shown in the following table. Figures for 2004/05 are not yet available.
	
		Percentage of 18-year-olds obtaining places in HE
		
			  2002/03 2003/04 
		
		
			 North East 19.8 20.9 
			 North West 21.8 20.9 
			 Merseyside 21.4 21.0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 19.7 19.3 
			 East Midlands 21.0 21.0 
			 West Midlands 21.7 21.2 
			 East of England 22.6 22.0 
			 London 23.9 23.6 
			 South East 23.3 22.7 
			 South West 21.1 20.2 
		
	
	In addition, HEFCE have recently published 'Young participation in Higher Education' published by HEFCE, which shows, for each region, the proportion of young people who enter higher education at age 18 or 19. The figures for the two most recent years are:
	
		Percentage of each year cohort aged 18
		
			  1999 2000 
		
		
			 North East 24.0 24.0 
			 North West 27.6 28.2 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 25.2 25.6 
			 East Midlands 27.5 27.9 
			 West Midlands 27.7 28.1 
			 East of England 28.6 30.1 
			 London 35.0 36.4 
			 South East 32.7 33.3 
			 South West 29.1 30.0

Rochdale Students

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 18 to 22-year-olds from Rochdale were studying at university (a) in 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Kim Howells: Participation rates for each parliamentary constituency are not calculated by the Department. The most recent information shows the proportion of 18-year-olds from Rochdale local education authority who obtained places on full-time higher education courses via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), and this is shown in the table.
	
		Proportion of students aged 18 from Rochdale local education authority accepted through UCAS to full-time undergraduate courses in the UK
		
			 Academic year Percentage 
		
		
			 1996–97 16.3 
			 2003–04 18.0 
		
	
	In addition, HEFCE have recently published Young participation in Higher Education", which shows the proportion of young people who enter higher education at age 18 or 19 by parliamentary constituency, although this only covers the years up to 2000. A discussion of the participation divisions between areas with high and low levels of participation, and trends (18-year-olds in 1994 to 18-year-olds in 2000) for constituencies is contained in the report (sections 2.12, 3.8 and 4.1).
	The figures indicate that the proportion of young people from Rochdale who entered higher education at age 18 or 19 was 24 per cent. in 1997 and 25 per cent. in 2000.

School Funding

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Government have allocated per child in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the Romford and Havering constituencies in 2004–05.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested is collected at local education authority level. Romford schools fall within Barking and Dagenham, Essex, Havering and Redbridge LEAs. The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		Total cash funding per pupil by each LEA containing a school in Romford, 2004–05 -- £
		
			 LEA name Primary (3 to 10-year-olds) Secondary (11 to 15-year-olds) 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 4,060 5,080 
			 Essex 3,460 4,360 
			 Havering 3,480 4,480 
			 Redbridge 3,750 4,580 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of education EPS settlements and include the pensions transfer to EPS and LSC.
	2.Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 3–10 and 11–15 and exclude EMAs and grants not allocated at LEA level.
	3.The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the EPS settlement calculations.
	4.Figures are in cash terms rounded to the nearest £10 as reported by the LEA.
	5.2004–05 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.

School Funding

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the allocation of capital funding to schools in Crosby and Formby before they receive Building Schools for the Future funding.

Stephen Twigg: On 30 November 2004, we announced capital funding allocations for all schools and authorities in England for the next three years. This followed the settlement of the 2004 spending review, in which schools capital increased to £6.3 billion by 2007–08, a six fold real-terms increase since 1996–97. Our announcement included direct capital funding for schools, and a typical primary school of 250 pupils will receive £25,500 of devolved formula capital in 2005–06, £32,250 in 2006–07and £34,250 in 2007–08. A typical secondary school of 1,000 pupils will receive £87,250, £108,500 and £113,000 in these years to use for its own priorities.
	Further, Sefton local education authority, which includes Corby and Formby, will receive a total of £12.6 million of formulaic funding over the next three years, and a further £3.5 million will be available for its voluntary aided schools. In all, over £32.5 million has been allocated from 2005–06 until 2007–08 for Sefton and its schools.
	Additionally, the authority can apply to the Targeted Capital Fund for exceptional needs which it cannot fund from its formulaic allocations. Last week we announced details of how authorities can access this funding for 2006–07, and all authorities are invited to apply for this additional funding. Finally, because Sefton is not prioritised early in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, by 2011 we aim to provide it with funding to transform at least one of its secondary school with the greatest need.
	My officials are currently meeting all authorities to discuss their capital strategy in the light of our recent announcements on funding allocations and BSF, and how they can best use the funding available to them from our allocations and their other resources to improve their school estate.

School Toilets

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  which national body is responsible for the standard of school toilets and washrooms for pupils;
	(2)  what discussions her Department has had with the Health and Safety Executive about extending its powers of inspection to cover school toilets for pupils; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The minimum number of toilets for pupils in maintained schools is controlled by the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999. Local education authorities are responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations. The condition of the facilities is a matter for the school's head teacher and governors as they are responsible for cleaning and maintenance. We have had no discussions about extending the inspection powers of the Health and Safety Executive to cover school toilets for pupils.

School Violence (Essex)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school violence episodes occurred in Romford and Havering schools in each year since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: This information is not collected centrally.

Schools (Essex)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many private, independent and faith schools there are in Romford and Havering constituencies.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		All schools: Number of schools by religious character, January 2004:Romford parliamentary constituency and Havering local education authority
		
			  Romford parliamentary constituency 
			  Maintained nursery Maintained primary(25) Maintained secondary(25) Special(26) Pupil referral units Independent 
		
		
			 No religious character 0 19 3 0 0 1 
			 Church of England 0 2 1 0 0 0 
			 Roman Catholic 0 2 1 0 0 1 
			 Methodist 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other Christian Faith(27) 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Jewish 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Muslim 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sikh 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 0 23 5 0 0 3 
		
	
	
		
			  Havering local education authority 
			  Maintained nursery Maintained primary(25) Maintained secondary(25) Special(26) Pupil referral units Independent 
		
		
			 No religious character 0 55 14 3 3 3 
			 Church of England 0 2 1 0 0 0 
			 Roman Catholic 0 0 2 0 0 1 
			 Methodist 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other Christian Faith(27) 0 0 1 0 0 3 
			 Jewish 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Muslim 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sikh 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 0 65 18 3 3 7 
		
	
	(25)Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(26)Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
	(27)Includes schools of mixed denomination or other Christian beliefs.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census and EduBase

Schools (Gang Culture)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received with regard to gang culture in schools.

Derek Twigg: One letter has been received from a member of the public.
	Specialist Schools

Schools (Gang Culture)

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what EU funding is available to the Specialist Schools Trust; and what assistance her Department is giving to the Trust in applying for such funds.

Stephen Twigg: The Specialist Schools Trust may apply for EU funding on the same basis as other organisations by way of formal application. The Department has no involvement.

State Schools (Accountability)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the means by which publicly funded schools are accountable for the academic performance of their pupils.

Stephen Twigg: The accountability system revolves around externally assured tests which set the standards of academic performance; publishing the results, both through individual notification to parents and in national school achievement and attainment tables; setting targets for academic achievement at 11, 14 and 16; and school inspection.
	The accountability system demonstrates whether or not schools are succeeding. Those that are, increasingly adopt leadership roles in the school system; those that require assistance because of the circumstances they face, can receive it; and where there are demonstrable failings, they can be tackled.

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the impact of non-completion of courses on the capacity of students to repay tuition fees and student loans.

Kim Howells: The average starting earnings of students, who do not complete their courses, are estimated to be around 70 per cent. of those of completing students entering repayment status at the same time. Future earnings are then assumed to increase based on average earnings growth. Borrowers are only required to start making repayments from the April following completion or withdrawal from their course and only if their earnings reach the repayment threshold.

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many student loan borrowers have been declared bankrupt in each year since student loans were introduced in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) England and Wales.

Kim Howells: The table shows the numbers of all student loan bankruptcies notified to the Student Loans Company in each year since student loans were introduced. As requested, the table gives the figures for (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) England and Wales. For completeness the figures for Northern Ireland are included as well.
	
		
			  Number of borrowers 
			  UK Scotland England and Wales Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 1990 0 0 0 0 
			 1991 0 0 0 0 
			 1992 20 2 18 0 
			 1993 24 3 21 0 
			 1994 46 3 43 0 
			 1995 56 6 49 1 
			 1996 71 13 58 0 
			 1997 140 31 108 1 
			 1998 219 75 141 3 
			 1999 392 142 250 0 
			 2000 456 150 301 5 
			 2001 759 194 553 12 
			 2002 1,018 329 678 11 
			 2003 2,679 429 2,203 47 
			 2004 3,803 811 2,943 49 
			 Total 9,683 2,188 7,366 129 
		
	
	Source:
	Student Loans Company

Student Debt

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the effects on her Department's income flow for each financial year from April 2005 if the income threshold at which graduates start to repay their student loans were to be raised to (a) £15,000, (b) £19,000 and (c) £25,000 per annum.

Kim Howells: The Department has estimated the impact on annual repayments via the tax system of raising the repayment threshold on income contingent loans from April 2005. This is not the same as the impact on the Department's total income flow, nor on the resource cost of issuing student loans as reflected in the Department's accounts.
	The following table summarises the estimated percentage reduction in annual repayments from raising the repayment threshold above £10,000 from April 2005. The estimates are based on maintenance loans only, exclude voluntary repayments, and assume that all repayment thresholds increase in line with inflation beyond 2005. 
	
		Percentage reduction in forecast annual repayments compared to a £10,000 repayment threshold
		
			  Repayment threshold in April 2005 
			 FY £15,000 £19,000 £25,000 
		
		
			 2005 46 73 90 
			 2006 44 68 88 
			 2007 40 65 86 
			 2008 38 62 84 
			 2009 35 58 84

Student Debt

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated level of debt owed to the Student Loan Company is in 2005; what the level of such debt is expected to be in each of the next five years; and what estimate has been made of the amount of bad debt which the Student Loan Company will write off in each year between 2005 and 2010.

Kim Howells: Estimates for total student loan debt owed to the Government for maintenance (mortgage style and income contingent) loans and fee loans in England and Wales are highly dependent on the future growth of student numbers, among other factors.
	Estimates for 2005–06 to 2007–08 are as follows:
	
		
			 At end of financial year £ million 
		
		
			 2005–06 16,270 
			 2006–07 19,400 
			 2007–08 23,160 
		
	
	Forecasts for years beyond FY07–08 are dependent on Spending Review 06 allocations. Around 5 per cent. of income contingent loans (the type of loan issued since 1998/99) in England and Wales are forecast not to be repaid. The majority of write-offs are for policy reasons, when a borrower reaches 65 years old, becomes disabled or dies.

Student Debt

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will estimate the cost of deferred loan arrangements for EU students after 2006; and what arrangements are planned by (a) her Department and (b) the Student Loan Company to recover such loans.

Kim Howells: If 75 per cent. of EU students were charged the full £3,000 fee and 25 per cent. charged the standard fee and assuming that 80 per cent. of them took out a fee loan and their repayment behaviour was similar to English and Welsh students, costs are currently estimated to be around £40 million per year (steady state at Academic Year 2006/07 terms).
	The Student Loans Company (SLC) are responsible for ensuring repayments are made when they fall due and have well established procedures for recovering loans from graduates living and working outside the UK. All students taking out a loan are required to sign a declaration agreeing to repay, even if they move abroad and the SLC have a range of sanctions that can be imposed on defaulters. DfES officials and SLC are exploring ways to ensure the most robust and effective loan recovery mechanisms are in place by the time the first graduate contributions from EU students are due to be collected.

Sure Start

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what definition she uses of children's centres; and what steps areas with no history of Sure Start or Neighbourhood Nurseries can take to set up children's centres.

Margaret Hodge: Children's centres are one-stop shops joining up services for young children and their families, including child care integrated with early learning. Children's centres are community based, responsive to local needs and focused on tackling early disadvantage. Centre staff will help parents access services their family needs either by offering services at the centre or linking parents with other providers in the local area. This will include:
	early education and child care places that fit with families' needs, whether in group settings, with child minders, or at home;
	parenting and family support;
	health advice, including health visiting and midwifery;
	preventative services to support children with additional needs early in a child's life, including outreach into communities; and
	support and help for parents to move into training and work.
	Children's centres are currently being developed in the most disadvantaged areas where needs are greatest. In most cases children's centres will offer early education and child care but in some less disadvantaged areas, a more flexible model may be appropriate. The services delivered at each centre will depend on local needs and existing service provision in the area.
	A large number of children's centres especially those in the more disadvantaged areas will be based upon Sure Start Local Programmes and Neighbourhood Nurseries. However, children's centres can be, and already are being, based upon a much wider range of existing private and public provision including, day nurseries, schools (nursery, primary and secondary) and family centres as well as other early years settings. Local authorities should draw upon their experience delivering the full range of early years settings and services, when establishing children's centres, building on what is currently available in the immediate locality.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of whether the public service agreement target of 90 per cent. of young people by age 22 to have participated in a full-time programme fitting them for entry into higher education or skilled employment by 2010 will be met.

Kim Howells: This target has been replaced by the new 2008 public service agreement target on level 2 and level 3 attainment. In the Department's 2004 autumn performance report we announced that we would no longer be reporting on the 2010 target in the context of a more streamlined and outcome-based package of spending review 2004 targets and supporting performance indicators.
	In addition to the level 2 at 19 public service agreement target, we will continue to track improved outcomes for young people through the participation rates of 16 and 17-year-olds in further education and training and the number of young people attaining a level 3 by age 19 and completing an apprenticeship.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of whether the public service agreement target to increase participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18 to 30 years by 2010 will be met.

Kim Howells: Demand projections based on anticipated improvements in attainment suggest that demand for HE will continue to grow and that progress towards 50 per cent. can be maintained between now and 2010.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the public service agreement target to make significant progress year on year towards fair access into higher education was met in 2004.

Kim Howells: The Higher Education Statistics Agency publishes a set of performance indicators for UK universities and higher education colleges. The latest data relates to entrants to higher education in the academic year 2002/03. These show that:
	The percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from state schools in England has risen as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 1999 84.1 
			 2000 85.0 
			 2001 85.2 
			 2002 86.4 
		
	
	The percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from low participation neighbourhoods in England has risen as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 1999 11.7 
			 2000 11.8 
			 2001 12.4 
			 2002 12.5 
		
	
	A full copy of the performance indicators can be found at www.hesa.ac.uk/pi/default.htm.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated cost to public funds is of achieving the Public Service Agreement target to make significant progress towards fair access into higher education.

Kim Howells: No estimate has been made of the cost to the public funds of achieving the Public Service Agreement target to make significant progress year on year towards fair access into higher education.
	The then Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Charles Clarke, made a statement to the House of Commons on 16 September 2004 about how expenditure announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his budget statement would be used to support the reforms set out in the Department's Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners.
	Concerning higher education, he explained that Government expenditure will increase by about £2billion between 2004–05 and 2007–08, taking total investment to almost £9.5 billion.
	This means there will be average increases of over 6 per cent. in real terms over the next three years. These increases will cover the sector's financial needs in the short term.

Teachers (Allegations)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the results of the consultation into proposals for dealing with allegations against teachers and other staff will be published.

Stephen Twigg: My officials have received 160 responses to the consultation and aim to publish a summary of those on my Department's website in early April.

HEALTH

A and E

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
	(1)  how many people attended an accident and emergency department in England in each quarter since March 2000;
	(2)  what the average percentage of patients seen in under four hours from arrival at an accident and emergency department to admission, transfer or discharge has been in each quarter since March 2000.

Rosie Winterton: Data on the number of attendances and the percentage of patients seen in four hours or less in accident and emergency departments are available on the Department's website at www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospital activity/index.htm.
	Data for each quarter from 2001–02 for A&E attendances and for each quarter from quarter 2, 2002–03 for patients seen in less than four hours are available in the Library. Prior to this, information was published annually in Outpatient and Ward Attenders, England", copies of which are also available in the Library.

Ambulance Response Times

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time for ambulances attending 999 calls was in (a) Hartlepool and (b) England in each year since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: This information is not collected centrally in the format requested. Data on response times for North East Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust and for all ambulance services in England are shown in the table. The Welsh Assembly should be contacted for information on the Welsh Ambulance Service.
	Data are only available from the date trusts introduced call prioritisation. North East Ambulance Service introduced call prioritisation in 1999–2000. All ambulance services in England had introduced call prioritisation by 2001–02.
	Further information can be found in the statistical bulletin, Ambulance services, England: 2003–04". A copy is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.publications.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0411.htm.
	
		
			  North East England 
		
		
			 Percentage of category A calls responded within eight minutes 
			 1997–98 n/a n/a 
			 1998–99 n/a n/a 
			 1999–2000 50.1 n/a 
			 2000–01 50.8 n/a 
			 2001–02 72.3 70.8 
			 2002–03 76.6 74.6 
			 2003–04 75.6 75.7 
			
			 Percentage of category A calls responded within 14–19 minutes 
			 1997–98 n/a n/a 
			 1998–99 n/a n/a 
			 1999–2000 96.1 n/a 
			 2000–01 93.9 n/a 
			 2001–02 98.0 94.1 
			 2002–03 99.1 94.6 
			 2003–04 98.9 93.9 
			
			 Percentage of category B/C calls responded within 14–19 minutes 
			 1997–98 n/a n/a 
			 1998–99 n/a n/a 
			 1999–2000 93.0 n/a 
			 2000–01 90.3 n/a 
			 2001–02 94.7 90.2 
			 2002–03 96.0 89.6 
			 2003–04 95.1 87.5 
			
			 Percentage of urgent journeys with arrival time not more than 15 minutes late 
			 1997–98 91.5 88.0 
			 1998–99 85.4 84.0 
			 1999–2000 80.1 80.5 
			 2000–01 77.6 78.8 
			 2001–02 85.0 78.5 
			 2002–03 83.7 78.0 
			 2003–04 85.4 78.1 
		
	
	n/a=Not available

Assertive Outreach Teams

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) crisis resolution teams, (b) assertive outreach teams and (c) early intervention teams he has established since 1999.

Rosie Winterton: There were estimated to be 243 crisis resolution, 278 assertive outreach and 81 early intervention teams established in England as at 31 December 2004. These figures are based on local delivery plan returns (LDPRs). These LDPR figures are the most timely data available, but are best viewed as approximate rather than definitive. Final data will become available via the 31 March update to the Durham mapping of adult mental health services.

Breast Screening

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what facilities are available for breast screening of women aged 50 to 64 years in (a) North Yorkshire, (b) East Anglia and (c) other parts of England; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The National Health Service Breast Screening Programme provides free breast screening every three years for all women in England aged 50 and over. Women aged between 50 and 70 are currently invited every three years. Once women reach the upper age limit for routine invitations for breast screening, they are encouraged to make their own appointment.
	There are 85 breast screening units in the United Kingdom. These are specialised screening units, which can either be mobile, hospital based, or permanently based in another convenient location such as a shopping centre. Approximately 80 per cent. of the units are mobile.
	In Northern Yorkshire, the breast screening service is comprised of two static sites, based in York, and three mobile units. For East Anglia, Ipswich, Yarmouth, King's Lynn and Peterborough each have one static site and one mobile unit. Cambridge has one static site and two mobile units, and Norfolk and Norwich have two static sites and two mobile units.

Capital Improvements (Hartlepool)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what capital improvements have been made by his Department in the Hartlepool constituency since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority reports that the total value of capital developments/investments at North Tees and Hartlepool National Health Service Trust in each year since 1997–98 is as shown in the table.
	
		
			  Amount (£000) 
		
		
			 1997–98 658 
			 1998–99 1,294 
			 1999–2000 1,698 
			 2000–01 1,478 
			 2001–02 1,544 
			 2002–03 1,159 
			 2003–04 1,193 
			 2004–05 1,553 
		
	
	The improvements that this funding has paid for include:
	a new computed tomography (CT) scanner, which was delivered to North Tees General Hospital in February 2002;
	a new £1 million pathology laboratory, which opened in December 2002 at the University Hospital of Hartlepool;
	a new £65,000 mammogram machine, which became operational in April 2003 at the University Hospital of North Tees;
	a new £2 million angiography unit, which is currently in development.
	In addition, Hartlepool PCT purchased the Barlows building in 2003–04 at a cost of around £750,000.

Care Standards

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthhow many inspections of care homes were carried out in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004 under the auspices of the Care Standards Commission; how many were unannounced; and how many led to deregistration of care homes.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 28 February 2005
	Information on the number of inspections of care homes completed by the National Care Standards Commission in 2002–03 and 2003–04 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Care home inspections 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Announced 25,800 24,645 
			 Unannounced 15,634 22,160 
			 Total 41,434 46,768 
		
	
	As of 24 February, the Commission for Social Care Inspection has completed 39,473 of the 44,674 care home inspections scheduled to be conducted by 31 March 2005. Of the 39,473 inspections, 20,440 were announced and 19,033 were unannounced.
	From 1 April 2004 to 24 February 2005, 2000 care homes have de-registered through inspection activity, home closure and change in ownership.

Cataract Operations (Wirral, South)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on waiting times for cataract operations in Wirral, South.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Finished consultant admission episodes and average time waited for episodes with a cataract main operation in Wirral Hospital National Health Service Trust, 2003–04
		
			  Wirral Hospital NHS Trust England (all NHS trusts) 
		
		
			 Finished admission episodes 1,600 297,935 
			 Mean time waited (days) 157 148 
			 Median time waited (days) 142 127 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Figures given are for all admission methods.
	2.The main operation is the first recorded operation in the hospital episodes statistics (HES) data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, eg time waited, but the figures for all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with an operation. OPCS4 codes C71-C72 and C74-C75 have been used for cataract operations.
	3.Time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension. Average time waited figures given are for waiting list and booked admissions.
	4.Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (ie the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	HES, Department of Health.

Civil Servants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of the enhanced early retirement scheme for civil servants in his Department and its agencies was in each year from 1997–98 to 2003–04 and what the estimated cost will be in each year from 2004–05 to 2007–08; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The cost of enhanced exits in the Department of Health for financial years 1997–98 to 2003–04 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial year Total cost(28) (£000) 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,762 
			 1998–99 1,129 
			 1999–2000 2,303 
			 2000–01 2,023 
			 2001–02 3,200 
			 2002–03 16,964 
			 2003–04 9,201 
			 Total 36,582 
		
	
	(28)The total includes annual compensation payments, for those aged over 50, until they reach normal retirement age.
	The estimated costs for financial years 2004–05 to 2007–08 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial year Estimated costs (£000) 
		
		
			 2004–05 (29)34,076 
			 2005–06 3,000 
			 2006–07 3,000 
			 2007–08 3,000 
			 Total 43,076 
		
	
	(29)This estimate includes £6.67 million for NHS Estates and Inventures.

Dentistry

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of dentists in (a) England and (b) each parliamentary constituency are accepting NHS patients.

Rosie Winterton: As of 15 February 2005, there were 8,443 dental practices accepting at least one type of national health service treatment. Information is not available centrally number of dentists accepting NHS patients by parliamentary constituency. Information on the number of dental practices that are accepting at least one type of NHS treatment by primary care trust has been placed in the Library. Because dental practices may be accepting more than one type of NHS patient, the data cannot be proportioned.

Dentistry

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of dentists in (a) each primary care trust and (b) each parliamentary constituency havestopped taking NHS patients in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The great majority of dental practices treat both private and national health service patients. The Office of Fair Trading report The private dentistry market in the UK" published in March 2003 estimated that out of 11,000 dental practices about 210 are totally private, treating no NHS patients. Data on the percentages of complete leavers, by primary care trust and parliamentary constituency has been placed in the Library. The data do not take account of dentists who moved to other areas and continued to work in the general or personal dental services. The dentists could have ceased doing NHS work for a number of different reasons including retirement or leave to take a short-term absence. New contractual arrangements, which we are to introduce by April 2006, are intended to make NHS dentistry more attractive to dentists.

Dentistry

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the additional £250 million allocated to NHS dentistry in England in 2005–06 is designated for new services.

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what impact the decision to delay full implementation of the NHS dentistry reforms until April 2006 will have on the £250 million additional investment in NHS dentistry previously announced for 2005–06.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 28 February 2005
	The decision to allow primary care trusts and dentists more time to prepare for the full implementation of the national health service dental reforms does not affect the resources available to support NHS dentistry. While primary dental services remain predominantly demand led, the distribution of resources is not susceptible to detailed central control. However, the additional resources underpin not only the higher income levels for existing dental practices recommended by the doctors and dentists review body but also the recruitment of 1,000 NHS dentists in little over a year and the expansion of personal dental service (PDS) schemes to provide new ways of working to the benefit of dentists and patients. We now have over 4,000 dentists in over 1,400 dental practices working under PDS arrangements. By April, we expect 25 per cent. of dental practices to be operating within the PDS.

Dentistry

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is in a Dental Access Centre for (a) emergency treatment and (b) routine treatment.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not held centrally on waiting times in dental access centres (DACs). There are 50 DACs, which provided some 375,000 episodes of treatment in 2004.

Dentistry

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists were signed up to the PDS contract by 31 January, broken down by primary care trust area.

Rosie Winterton: Dentists, who wish to have advanced benefit of the new contractual arrangements that will be introduced to national health services dentistry by April 2006, may move to the personal dental services (PDS). As of 31 January 2005, there were 3,881 dentists with at least one PDS contract in England. There are some further 500 practices with applications under consideration and by April 2005, we expect 25 per cent. of all dental practices to be in the PDS. A breakdown of PDS contracts by primary care trust has been placed in the Library.

Emergency Admissions

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been admitted to hospital after attending (a) a major accident and emergency department, (b) a minor injuries unit and (c) a walk-in-centre in each of the last three years; and what percentage of all attendances at accident and emergency departments this represented in each case.

Rosie Winterton: Data on the number of patients admitted to hospitals after attending minor injuries units and walk-in-centres are not held centrally. The number of patients admitted to hospital after attending a major accident and emergency department and the percentage of all attendances at a major accident and emergency department that this represents, is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Quarter Number of patients admitted through major A and E Patients admitted through A and E as a percentage of first attendances (major A and E) 
		
		
			 2002–03   
			 1 563,836 19 
			 2 565,743 19 
			 3 574,983 21 
			 4 583,491 21 
			
			 2003–04   
			 1 584,987 19 
			 2 604,515 19 
			 3 637,406 21 
			 4 640,840 22 
			
			 2004–05   
			 1 651,785 20 
			 2 673,452 21 
			 3 705,901 22 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health QMAE.

Epilepsy

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for first referral for a patient to see an epilepsy specialist; and what changes have occurred to this waiting time over the past five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Figures on waiting times for the treatment of neurological conditions are published but epilepsy is not separately identified.

Avian Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in developing a vaccine for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the amantadine vaccine as a (a) treatment and (b) prophylactic for avian influenza;
	(2)  what advice he has received from the Health Protection Agency on what vaccines or antivirals, and how many, to stockpile in preparation for an influenza pandemic;
	(3)  what vaccines, and at what minimum number of doses, his Department has assessed as sufficient to prevent an (a) influenza and (b) avian flu (i) pandemic and (ii) epidemic;
	(4)  what his Department's definition is of a pandemic; and what assessment he has made of the likelihood of an (a) influenza pandemic and (b) avian influenza pandemic occurring in the next five years;
	(5)  what estimate his Department has made of the total number of people in at risk groups for influenza, as defined by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence;
	(6)  what estimate his Department has made of the length of time, from February, it will take his Department to obtain the stockpiles of flu vaccines or antivirals necessary to cope with an (a) influenza and (b) avian flu (i) pandemic and (ii) epidemic;
	(7)  pursuant to his answer of 10 February to question 213139 on influenza vaccines, when the review will report.

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what are the current stocks of Oseltamivir are held by the NHS; and what plans he has to increase them;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the risk of a pandemic of avian flu; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 28 February 2005
	I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison) on 1 March 2005, Official Report, column 1080W.

Avian Influenza

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has in place to protect the UK against an influenza pandemic; and what emergency procedures are in place to protect vulnerable groups;
	(2)  what quantity of influenza vaccine the Government has stockpiled;
	(3)  what steps he will take to communicate advice and warnings to the public in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member of Westbury (Dr. Murrison) on 1 March 2005, Official Report, column 1080W.

Meat Hygiene

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what qualifications and training the Food Standards Agency proposes to implement to comply with the requirement under EC Regulation 854/2004 that company meat inspectors in white meat plants undertake the same training and pass the same qualification as Government meat inspectors.

Melanie Johnson: The board of the Food Standards Agency will be considering implementation of Regulation 854/2004 at its March meeting when a decision on how to implement this requirement is expected to be taken.

Mental Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) median and (b) mean waiting times for patients waiting to see a consultant psychiatrist as (i) an outpatient first attendance and (ii) an elective inpatient admission were, in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Outpatient provider and commissioner waits for mental health specialities(30) quarterly from June 1996 (provider only) to December 2004 in England
		
			   Weeks 
			  Waited (seen) Provider Commissioner 
			  quarter Median Mean Median Mean 
		
		
			 1996–97 June 3.83 6.94 n/a n/a 
			 1996–97 September 3.81 7.04 n/a n/a 
			 1996–97 December 3.75 7.17 n/a n/a 
			 1996–97 March 3.86 6.74 n/a n/a 
			 1997–98 June 3.91 6.88 4.08 7.23 
			 1997–98 September 3.89 6.96 3.88 6.96 
			 1997–98 December n/a n/a 3.63 6.47 
			 1997–98 March 3.75 6.65 3.76 6.52 
			 1998–99 June 3.84 6.61 3.89 6.72 
			 1998–99 September 3.80 6.82 3.67 6.51 
			 1998–99 December 3.69 6.77 3.61 6.57 
			 1998–99 March 3.75 6.75 3.66 6.54 
			 1999–2000 June 3.90 6.66 3.81 6.58 
			 1999–2000 September 3.72 6.62 3.69 6.63 
			 1999–2000 December 3.73 6.65 3.61 6.40 
			 1999–2000 March 3.81 6.79 3.80 6.86 
			 2000–01 June 3.81 6.65 3.70 6.53 
			 2000–01 September 3.87 6.72 3.78 6.75 
			 2000–01 December 3.72 6.67 3.63 6.55 
			 2000–01 March 3.91 6.78 3.84 6.77 
			 2001–02 June 4.32 6.86 4.02 6.95 
			 2001–02 September 4.29 7.02 3.93 6.86 
			 2001–02 December 3.83 6.76 3.67 6.77 
			 2001–02 March 4.31 7.56 4.00 7.25 
			 2002–03 June 4.51 6.94 4.18 6.88 
			 2002–03 September 3.85 6.34 3.87 6.59 
			 2002–03 December 3.75 5.97 3.84 6.37 
			 2002–03 March 4.21 6.32 4.31 6.43 
			 2003–04 June 3.92 5.92 3.89 5.90 
			 2003–04 September 3.71 5.50 3.73 5.48 
			 2003–04 December 3.64 5.38 3.76 5.54 
			 2003–04 March 3.91 5.67 3.87 5.68 
			 2004–05(31) June 2.95 5.43 2.88 5.43 
			 2004–05(31) September 2.87 5.38 2.75 5.29 
			 2004–05(31) December 2.71 5.10 — — 
		
	
	n/a=not available.
	(30)Mental health specialists include mental illness, child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychotherapy and old age psychiatry.
	(31)Please note that after April 2004–05, the data has been provided using different time bands, which leads to a more accurate calculation of the mean and median.
	Source:
	Provider—QM08
	Commissioner—QM08R
	
		Inpatient provider and commissioner waits for mental health specialities(32) quarterly from June 1996 to December 2004 in England
		
			   Weeks 
			  Waited (seen) Provider Commissioner 
			  quarter Median Mean Median Mean 
		
		
			 1996–97 June 13.64 10.26 14.25 10.86 
			 1996–97 September 14.65 10.67 13.37 9.88 
			 1996–97 December 16.65 11.87 16.45 12.50 
			 1996–97 March 14.39 10.66 14.14 10.69 
			 1997–98 June n/a n/a 12.54 9.84 
			 1997–98 September n/a n/a 11.46 8.82 
			 1997–98 December n/a n/a 13.56 10.52 
			 1997–98 March 12.34 9.50 12.61 9.70 
			 1998–99 June 11.59 9.12 12.64 9.84 
			 1998–99 September 11.09 8.97 11.69 9.15 
			 1998–99 December 12.35 9.41 12.77 9.12 
			 1998–99 March 10.99 8.46 12.15 8.84 
			 1999–2000 June 12.70 9.81 12.19 9.40 
			 1999–2000 September 11.76 8.78 12.54 8.53 
			 1999–2000 December 11.93 8.95 13.03 8.58 
			 1999–2000 March 10.20 8.03 12.64 8.45 
			 2000–01 June 11.19 8.76 10.18 7.98 
			 2000–01 September 10.26 8.54 8.85 7.55 
			 2000–01 December 10.41 8.78 9.52 7.89 
			 2000–01 March 11.01 8.98 10.49 8.68 
			 2001–02 June 10.61 8.66 11.11 8.74 
			 2001–02 September 11.12 9.00 11.76 9.13 
			 2001–02 December 12.59 10.19 11.55 9.01 
			 2001–02 March 12.40 9.89 9.86 8.11 
			 2002–03 June 12.95 9.73 10.09 8.36 
			 2002–03 September 11.86 9.09 9.49 8.09 
			 2002–03 December 13.22 9.52 11.11 8.69 
			 2002–03 March 12.79 8.80 9.20 7.51 
			 2003–04 June 10.17 8.22 7.67 7.08 
			 2003–04 September 10.40 8.43 7.65 7.13 
			 2003–04 December 8.93 7.78 8.28 7.61 
			 2003–04 March 8.97 7.89 9.29 8.10 
			 2004–05(33) June 6.73 4.69 7.32 4.88 
			 2004–05(33) September 6.47 4.01 6.75 4.19 
			 2004–05(33) December 7.27 5.82 8.46 7.54 
		
	
	n/a=not available.
	(32)Mental health specialists include mental illness, child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychotherapy and old age psychiatry.
	(33)Please note that after April 2004–05, the data has been provided using different time bands which leads to a more accurate calculation of the mean and median
	Source:
	Provider—KH07
	Commissioner—QF01

Mental Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure on mental health services has been in each year in real terms since 1986, broken down as in Annex A of the further memorandum given by his Department to the Joint Select Committee on the draft Mental Health Bill.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available for the period requested. However, information on expenditure on mental health services in each year since 1993–94 has been placed in the Library. The information is from the hospital and community health service programme budget and does not include expenditure on people with mental health problems seen solely in primary care.

Mental Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women detained voluntarily or involuntarily as psychiatric inpatients are detained in (i) high security NHS hospitals, (ii) other NHS facilities and (iii) private mental nursing homes.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in the format requested. On 31 March 2004, there were 7,727 men and 3,981 women detained in national health service facilities and 1,516 men and 776 women in independent hospitals (known until April 2002 as private mental nursing homes) under Parts II, III and X the Mental Health Act 1983. It is not possible to identify the number of detentions in high security NHS hospitals separately as the information is collected by NHS trusts.
	Information on informal (voluntary) patients in hospital on 31 March 2004 is not available. However, there were 191,070 admissions to NHS hospitals under mental illness and learning disability specialties in 2003–04 as a whole.

Mobile Phones

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on research programmes on the possible health effects of mobile phone technologies in each of the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: The Department has contributed the following amounts directly to mobile phones and health research through its radiation protection research programme and (after 2001) the mobile telecommunications and health research (MTHR) programme (www.mthr.org.uk).
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2000–01 42,061 
			 2001–02 101,320 
			 2002–03 373,404 
			 2003–04 (34)378,052 
			 2004–05 390,625 
		
	
	(34)Includes part estimate to end of March 2005
	The total value of the MTHR programme and its adjunct funding arrangements is currently £8.8 million.
	The Department supports other mobile phone health research through its contributions to the National Radiological Protection Board (www.nrpb.org) and the World Health organisation electromagnetic fields project (www.who.int/peh-emf).

NHS Injury Cost Recovery Scheme

Chris Mole: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the proposed expansion of the NHS Injury Cost Recovery Scheme.

Rosie Winterton: The Department recently completed a public consultation exercise on draft regulations to govern the operation of the expanded national health service injury costs recovery (ISR) scheme. Although the full analysis of the responses to the consultation is still under way, one of the key messages to come out of our initial scrutiny was that high levels of concern remain about the insurance market's ability to cope with the new changes. After further discussions, I have decided that now is not the right time to introduce the expanded scheme. However, we remain committed to the principle of polluter pays" that underpins the ICR Scheme, and the expanded scheme will be introduced by October 2006.

Nursing Homes (Essex)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been allocated for the improvement and renovation of nursing homes in the Romford and Havering constituencies in 2004–05.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not collected by the Department. Care homes are private businesses and any improvements and renovations they make are a matter for them to decide on and fund out of their own resources.

Open Mind (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding Open Mind in Chorley received in the last year for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: The Department does not provide funding directly to Open Mind in Chorley. Over 80 per cent. of national health service resources are allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs) which are responsible for commissioning health services to meet the needs of their local population. In the current financial year, Chorley and South Ribble PCT received a resource revenue allocation of £171.7 million, this will increase to £266.7 million in 2007–08.

Physical Activity

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on advertising the benefits of physical activity in each of the last seven years.

Melanie Johnson: The Department and the national health service promote the benefits of physical activity in many ways to professionals, the public and other stakeholders. In particular, primary care trusts are required to have systematic and managed health promotion programmes, including action on exercise, that are responsive to local needs.
	In support of local delivery, we published a national quality assurance framework for exercise referral systems in 2001 and a report from the Chief Medical Officer, At least five a week" in 2004 setting out evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health.
	The public health White Paper Choosing health, making healthier choices easier" includes a commitment for a new cross-government campaign to raise awareness of the health risks of overweight and obesity, and the steps people can take through diet and physical activity to prevent obesity.

Self-harming

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people who commit suicide he estimates have previously self-harmed.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally. However, research suggests that around 50 per cent. of people who commit suicide have previously self-harmed.
	As part of the implementation of the national suicide prevention strategy, three centres have been established to monitor deliberate self-harm and provide accurate data on national trends and patterns to help inform suicide prevention interventions and detect changing patterns or local variations. Through monitoring, it will be possible to estimate the number of suicides by people who have self-harmed in the year prior to death.

Sunlight Exposure

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent research he has examined concerning (a) the effects of lifetime exposure to sunlight on the risk of melanoma and (b) the effect of sun exposure on survival rates for melanoma;
	(2)  what recent research he has examined concerning the effect of exposure to UV light on the risk of lymphoma;
	(3)  what recent research he has examined concerning the effect of exposure to vitamin D from sunlight in the months immediately after birth on the risk of developing multiple sclerosis.

Melanie Johnson: The most recent review of the research evidence about the health effects of UV radiation was published in 2002 by the National Radiological Protection Board's (NRPB) independent advisory group on non-ionising radiation (AGNIR).
	The review gives clear evidence that exposure to ultra-violet radiation (UVR) is a risk factor for developing melanoma and other skin cancers. There is less certainty about the relative roles of cumulative (lifetime) exposure or burning episodes in the genesis of the different types of skin cancer. Chronic exposure to solar radiation also causes photo-ageing of the skin. The risk of developing melanoma has increased substantially in white populations in the United Kingdom and Europe for several decades. The review did not consider clinical issues such as the effect of sun exposure on survival rates for melanoma.
	The review noted that the possibility has been raised that the immunosuppressive effects of UVR might be involved in causing lymphoma. The review concluded that overall the results are not-consistent with a major role for solar UVR in the aetiology of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), but they leave open the possibility of a minor role, or an aetiological relation for a particular subtype of NHL.
	The review also contains a chapter on vitamin D, which considers the amount of vitamin D needed from UV exposure or the diet to sustain adequate vitamin D levels. It considers the role of vicarious sun exposure in vitamin D synthesis. It notes that infant formula milks are fortified with vitamin D. There is no information in the review on vitamin D and multiple sclerosis, or on any relationship between vitamin D levels in early childhood and illness in adulthood.
	The European skin cancer society, Euroskin, is hosting an international meeting to look at the whole issue of UV exposure, vitamin D levels and health later this year. This meeting will include consideration of hypotheses of a wider role for vitamin D in long-term health.

Surrey and Sussex (Health Inspection Bodies)

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the bodies which inspect (a) the East Surrey hospital and (b) the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

Rosie Winterton: The specific information requested is not held by the Department.
	However, 31 bodies have the right to inspect and regulate national health service hospital trusts in England. Of these, 18 are regulators of the professions and only have a role in inspecting training.
	The 31 bodies are as follows:
	Independent health regulators,
	Audit Commission,
	Healthcare Commission (formerly called the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection),
	Monitor (formerly called the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts),
	Health and Safety Executive,
	General Social Care Council,
	Health Development Agency*,
	Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority* (This will be incorporated into the Regulatory Authority for Fertility and Tissue by 2007–08, along with the Human Tissue Authority),
	National Audit Office,
	National Biological Standards Board*,
	National Health Service Appointments Commission,
	National Institute of Clinical Excellence,
	Commission for Social Care Inspection,
	The Commission for Patient and Public Health Involvement in Health*,
	Regulators of the Professions,
	General Chiropractic Council,
	General Dental Council,
	General Medical Council,
	General Optical Council,
	General Osteopathic Council,
	Health Professionals Council,
	Nursing and Midwifery Council,
	Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain,
	Royal College of Anaesthetists,
	Royal College of General Practitioners,
	Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,
	Royal College of Ophthalmologists,
	Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health,
	Royal College of Pathologists,
	Royal College of Physicians,
	Royal College of Psychiatrists,
	Royal College of Radiologists,
	Royal College of Surgeons of England.
	Bodies indicated with a * will no longer exist in 2007–08.
	The Better Regulation Task Force defines an independent regulator as: A body which has been established by Act of Parliament, but which operates at arm's length from Government and which has one or more of the following powers: inspection; referral; advice to a third party; licensing; accreditation; or enforcement."

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Constitutional Treaty

Kate Hoey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2005, Official Report, columns902–03W, on the Constitutional Treaty, how the restrictions on Government publication of information under section 125 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 will be enforced.

Christopher Leslie: It is the responsibility of those to whom section 125 applies to ensure that they comply with the requirements of that provision. A person alleging a breach of section 125 could seek a judicial review.

Constitutional Treaty

Kate Hoey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2005, Official Report, columns 902–03W, on the Constitutional Treaty, 
	(1) what obligations there will be under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 for permitted participants in the referendum on the European Constitution to declare donations from the institutions of the European Union;
	(2)  what regulations will govern expenditure by UK-based organisations that are funded by the institutions of the European Union but are permitted participants in the referendum on the European Constitution.

Christopher Leslie: Donations to permitted participants are regulated by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). Donations must be declared to the Electoral Commission and can only be accepted if they are from permissible donors (except for donations of less than £200). A permissible donor can only be:
	an individual registered on a UK electoral register;
	a UK company;
	a UK trade union;
	a UK building society;
	a UK Limited Liability partnership;
	a UK friendly/building society;
	a UK based unincorporated association.
	a UK registered political party (in the case of a donation to a designated organisation or a registered political party which is not a minor party)
	In addition, powers in the European Union Bill maybe used to include similar classes of donors for Gibraltar.
	Therefore donations of £200 or more from the institutions of the European Union to a permitted participant would have to be declared as impermissible donations and returned.
	All permitted participants are subject to referendum expenditure limits, set out in Schedule 14 to PPERA, namely: £5 million in the case of a designated organisation; between £500,000 and £5 million in the case of political parties; and £500,000 in other cases.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Diplomatic Posts

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total personnel costs were for the last full financial year for which records are available of running the diplomatic posts in (a) the European Union, (b) Paraguay, (c) Belgium, (d) El Salvador, (e) Nicaragua, (f) Hondouras, (g) Germany, (h) France, (i) Luxemburg, (j) Vanuatu, (k) Tonga, (l) East Timor, (m) Kiribati, (n) The Bahamas, (o) Lesotho, (p) Swaziland and (q) Madagascar.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 24 February 2005
	The total personnel costs of running diplomatic posts for 2003–04 for the relevant countries are set out in the table. The European Union figure includes UK representation to the European Union and to 24 member states.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 The European Union 79.190 
			 Paraguay 0.259 
			 Belgium 2.824 
			 El Salvador 0.085 
			 Nicaragua 0.316 
			 Honduras 0.271 
			 Germany 9.882 
			 France 12.526 
			 Luxembourg 0.622 
			 Vanuatu 0.218 
			 Tonga 0.122 
			 East Timor 0.033 
			 Kiribati 0.006 
			 The Bahamas 0.377 
			 Lesotho 0.289 
			 Swaziland 0.230 
			 Madagascar 0.222

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Joint Co-operation Committee (EEC—ASEAN) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The EU Joint Co-operation Committee with the Association of South East Asian Nations did not meet during this period.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Joint Committee (i) EEC-Bangladesh, (ii) EC-Kingdom of Cambodia and (iii)EEC-China met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: During this period the EC Joint Committee with Bangladesh met in Brussels on 19 November 2003 and the EC Joint Committee with China on 30 October 2003 in Beijing. The EC Joint Committee meeting with Cambodia did not meet during this period.
	As these Committees are chaired by the Commission, with support from the Presidency, there were no UK representatives at these meetings. However, the UK participated fully in formulating the EU's position for the meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the (i) Joint Committee EEC-Mongolia, (ii) EC-Moldova Co-operation Committee and (iii) Joint Committee (EC-Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: During this period, there were two meetings of the EU-Moldova Co-operation Committee—on 28 October 2003 in Chisinau and on 23 November 2004 in Brussels. There was one meeting of the Joint Committee on EEC-Mongolia on 4 November 2003 in Ulaanbaatar. As these meetings are chaired by the Commission, with support from the presidency, there were no UK representatives. However, the UK participated fully in formulating the EU's position for the meetings.
	There is no Joint Committee between the EC and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Technical dialogue between the EU and Macedonia now takes place in the annual meetings of the Stabilisation and Association Committee, which met for the first time in Skopje on 2–3 June 2004. Prior to the entry into force of the EU-Macedonia Stabilisation and Association Agreement on 1 April 2004, technical dialogue took place in the annual meetings of the Co-operation Council, which met for the last time in Brussels on 25 July 2003. The European Commission leads these technical dialogue meetings on behalf of the EU. Member states have the option of attending as observers. The UK sent an observer from the local UK mission to each of the meetings mentioned above.

EU Information Campaigns

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  which EU budget lines in the EC draft budget for 2005 may be used for information campaigns; how much is allocated under each line; which projects under each line are operating in the United Kingdom; and which projects he intends to support within the United Kingdom as part of the EU Constitution debate;
	(2)  how much has been spent by the EU on PRINCE within the UK in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year;
	(3)  how much has been spent by the EU under the PRINCE information programme (a) on Economic and Monetary Union, (b) on the Debate on the Future of Europe and (c) under EC budget line 16 04 04 in theUK in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year;
	(4)  how much he estimates will be spent in the United Kingdom from EC budget lines (a) 2710, (b) 2719, (c) 2720 and (d) 2830 during the 2005–06 financial year;
	(5)  how much has been spent under EC budget line (a) 16 02 02 and (b) 16 03 01 in the UK in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year;
	(6)  what public relations campaigns the European Commission UK Representation has undertaken under EC budget line 16 03 01 in the last 12 months; and what campaigns are planned in the forthcoming year;
	(7)  what events the European Commission UK Representation has undertaken under EC budget line 16 03 01 in the last 12 months; and what events are planned in the forthcoming year;
	(8)  how much has been spent by the European Commission representation in the UK (a) under EC budget line 16 03 02 and (b) on priority communications under EC budget line 16 03 03 in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year;
	(9)  how much has been spent on (a) information and (b) communication tools by the European Commission UK Representation under EC budget line 16 04 02 in theUK in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year;
	(10)  how much his Department spent in partnership with the European Commission and its UK Representation in relation to EC budget line 16 04 02 in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year;
	(11)  what publications funded under EC budget line 16 04 02 were distributed in the UK during the last 24 months;
	(12)  how much has been spent on information outlets by the European Commission UK Representation under EC budget line 16 05 01 in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year;
	(13)  how much has been spent on special events by the European Commission under EC budget line 15 06 06 in the UK in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year.

Denis MacShane: The Institutions of the European Union are responsible for their own activities in terms of providing information to the public. Further details can be obtained from the UK Representations of the European Union's Institutions, contact details of which can be found at www.cec.org.uk, www.europarl.org.uk and www.europe.eu.int.

European Commission

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on information outlets in partnership with the European Commission and its UK representation in relation to EC budget line 16 05 01 in each of the last five financial years; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the 2005–06 financial year.

Denis MacShane: None and nothing.

European Constitution

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 703W, on the European Union, what assessment the Government have made of whether the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly, could be construed as national parliaments under the terms of Article 6 of Protocol 2 of the EU Constitutional Treaty.

Denis MacShane: The Government believes that the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly are not national parliaments" for the purposes of that Article.

European Constitution

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department will take to promote the proposed EU constitution; when its actions will commence; and how much his Department will spend on promotion of the proposed constitution.

Denis MacShane: For the financial year 2004–05, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget for informing the public about the EU, including about the constitutional treaty, is £613,000. A range of materials communicating the facts about the EU and the new treaty will be produced. A Guide to the European Union, which included information about the new treaty, was published recently. Additionally, I make regular visits around the country to discuss European issues with the public.

European Constitution

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the remit is of the EU Constitution Team; what the budget for the EU Constitution Team (a) is in 2004–05 and (b) was in 2003–04; and how many staff work in the EU Constitution Team.

Denis MacShane: The EU Constitution Team of 14 staff leads on managing the passage of the EU Bill through Parliament, policy on the EU constitutional treaty and EU communications work. It has a programme budget of £613,000 for financial year 2004–05. The EU Constitution Team did not exist in 2003–04 as the EU constitutional treaty was only agreed at the June 2004 European Council.

European Constitution

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the planned timetable for appointing the agencies for partnership marketing and e-communications to promote the European Constitution is.

Denis MacShane: A partnership marketing agency, Iris, was appointed on 11 February 2005 through a competitive tendering process. We hope to appoint an agency to help with online information in mid March. The objective of this work is to provide factual information about the EU and the proposed EU constitutional treaty.

European Constitution

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2005, Official Report, column 1454W, on the European constitution, whether the external companies appointed to promote the constitution will be contractually required to ensure that the information they give is objective.

Denis MacShane: The work of external companies in communicating the EU and proposed EU constitutional treaty is managed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Contracts are with Central Office of Information Communications following standard guidelines. All output by external agencies must be cleared with the FCO. The FCO works to ensure that all information it issues on the subject of the EU and the EU constitutional treaty is objective and explanatory.

European Constitution

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from what budget within his Department the contracts for the external companies promoting the European constitution are being met.

Denis MacShane: Europe directorate meets the costs of hiring external companies to inform the public about the EU, including about the proposed EU constitutional treaty.

European Constitution

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which unit within his Department is responsible for deciding the terms of reference for the external companies promoting the European constitution.

Denis MacShane: The work of external companies in communicating the EU and proposed EU constitutional treaty is managed by the Europe directorate. Contracts are with Central Office of Information Communications following standard guidelines.

European Constitution

Kate Hoey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs for what reasons the Electoral Commission may not designate a permitted participant in the referendum on the EU Constitution as referred to in paragraph 59 of the Explanatory Notes to the European Union Bill.

Christopher Leslie: Sections 108(2)(b) and 109(4) and (5) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 provide for the circumstances under which the Electoral Commission may not designate a permitted participant as a campaign representative. The Electoral Commission shall designate a permitted participant to be a campaign representative in relation to each outcome unless they are not satisfied that in both cases there is an applicant who adequately represents those campaigning for the outcome.

European Constitution

Kate Hoey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs on what grounds it would be possible to seek a judicial review of the result of the referendum on the EU Constitution.

Christopher Leslie: Clause 8 of the European Union Bill provides that a legal challenge to the referendum result may only be brought by proceedings for a judicial review commenced within six weeks of the certified result.
	It would be for the court to determine if there were grounds for a judicial review, if sought.

Falkland Islands

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Government of Argentina about charter flights for cruise ship passenger transfers to the Falkland Islands;
	(2)  whether he has made representations to the Government of Argentina following the revocation of permission for charter flights to the Falkland Islands for cruise ship passenger transfers; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 1 March 2005
	I met the Argentine Foreign Minister Bielsa in the margins of the international aid conference on support for Colombia in Cartagena. The subject of charter flights was discussed. The situation on this issue remains unchanged from that given in my statement to the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr. Simmonds) on 18 November 2004, Official Report, column 1782W.

General Affairs and External Relations Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of the General Affairs and External Relations Council held on 21 February; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The information is as follows:
	Outcome of the 21 February 2005 General Affairs and External Relations Council
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, John Grant (UK Permanent Representative to the EU) and I represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Brussels on 21 February 2005.
	Conclusions were agreed on the Middle East, Iraq, Western Balkans, Ukraine and Sudan.
	General Affairs Session
	Preparations for the European Council—22/23 March, Brussels
	The presidency introduced the draft agenda for the March European Council. The European Council will discuss the mid-term review of the Lisbon agenda, reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, sustainable development and international issues. The next meeting of the GAERC on 16 March will or prepare discussions in detail.
	Future financing 2007–13
	The Council had an exchange of views on competitiveness for growth and employment (spending on Lisbon-related objectives). The Government argued that the budget needed to be determined according to rigorous prioritisation and clear EU value added. The Government also argued, along with other supporters of an overall 1 per cent. GNI budget package, that the proposed budget (a threefold increase) was far too high. All member states endorsed research and development as a general priority but with different emphases on where EU value-added lay. Most member states expressed deep scepticism about the proposed Growth Adjustment Fund. The next meeting of the GAERC on 16 March will have a broader discussion of progress in the overall future financing negotiation.
	External Relations Session
	MEPP
	The Council discussed the recent political developments in the MEPP, including the outcomes from the Sharm al-Sheik meeting and the Israeli Government's formal decision to implement the disengagement plan, which includes withdrawal of settlements from Gaza and part of the West Bank. The UK thanked the presidency, High Representative Solana, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner and member states for their support for the 1 March London Meeting and explained the aim of the meeting was to assist the Palestinian leadership in building the institutions for a viable state. The focus would be on economic, governance and security institutions. The Council also discussed the importance of implementing UNSCR 1559 and condemned the attack which killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
	Iraq
	The Council discussed strengthening the EU's relations with Iraq following last month's successful elections and agreed a package of measures to that end. These include an integrated ESDP Rule of Law Mission (EUJUST LEX) with a liaison office in Baghdad, continued assistance with the elections process, provision of constitutional experts, intensified activity on capacity building in Iraqi Ministries particularly in the trade and energy sectors, and a commitment to an EU Troika visit to Iraq and a Joint Political Declaration to frame future co-operation, as soon as the Iraqi Transitional Government is in place and political developments allow. There was also discussion on the effective co-ordination of international reconstruction assistance to the Iraqi administration based on a French proposal. The UK welcomed the French proposal and thanked member states and the Commission for their constructive approach. There was much the EU could now do to help nurture Iraq's new government and the continuing political process.
	Western Balkans
	The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative, Soren Jessen-Petersen, joined Ministers for a discussion on Kosovo. The Council offered Mr. Petersen its support for his work to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1244. It noted that the Review of UN-endorsed Standards would take place in mid-2005. If positive, this Review would pave the way for a process to determine Kosovo's final status. The Council expressed hope that the Provisional Institutions of Self Government would continue implementation of Standards to allow a positive assessment. The Council encouraged Belgrade to engage constructively on Kosovo. It reaffirmed that the future of the Western Balkans—including Kosovo—was within the European Union; the EU would therefore have an important future role to play. The Council emphasised that Kosovo's future must be consistent with the principles of multi-ethnic democracy. The UK supported this assessment of the road ahead, agreeing that the UN would remain in the lead in Kosovo but that the EU would also have an important role to play.
	The Council also discussed Croatia and adopted Conclusions which set out clearly that Croatia must co-operate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia if accession negotiations are to open on 17 March.
	Transatlantic relations
	Ministers briefly discussed the EU meeting with President Bush on 22 February with the presidency stressing the need for strict discipline on both the length and substance of interventions at the 22 February meeting.
	Ukraine
	After a brief discussion, the Council agreed Conclusions based on the 10 point package presented to the GAERC on 31 January by Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner. The package consists of 10 concrete steps to strengthen co-operation between the EU and Ukraine beyond the European Neighbourhood Action Plan which was also launched and endorsed by the EU-Ukraine Co-operation Council in the margins of the GAERC on 21 February.
	Revision of Cotonou
	The Council discussed revisions to the text of the Cotonou Agreement (which governs EU relations with the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states) and the accompanying financial package to succeed the ninth European Development Fund (EDF) in preparation for the EU/ACP ministerial meeting on 23 February 2005. Commissioner Michel briefed the Council of the latest state of play on negotiations of the text with the ACP. Differences between the two sides were now small and he was confident that agreement could be reached on 23 February. Agreement was also reached on the financial package with the retention of language on a performance review on which decisions about financing beyond the minimum agreed sum would be based. The flexibility in the language on the sunset clause setting 2007 as the final date for commitments of funds under the current EDF was also retained. Both are good outcomes for the UK.
	Sudan
	The Council agreed Conclusions which call upon the Government of Sudan and the National Democratic Alliance to sign the full Cairo Agreement as soon as possible, note the Council's concerns about violations of the ceasefire and it's readiness to support measures agreed in the UN Security Council, and welcome the International Commission of Inquiry report on Darfur.
	AOB—Great Lakes
	Belgian Foreign Minister De Gucht briefed the Council on his recent visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He had two concerns. First, further problems could arise if no solution was found to the training of a unified army. Belgium had trained one unified brigade, and was helping with a second. But EU funding was required to support this. He hoped that a solution could be found by the time of the next GAERC. Second, election plans for the DRC were unrealistic. If a referendum on the constitution was held in July, as planned, elections could not take place until 2006. One solution would be to hold elections in July and for both houses of the provisional parliament to vote on a new constitution immediately thereafter. The presidency suggested that EU Africa Directors meet soon to discuss the two issues raised.
	AOB—Belarus
	Lithuania called for the EU to do more to support democratisation, human rights and the independent media in Belarus. Lithuania informed the Council they would host a workshop in Vilnius on 18 March.
	AOB—Mercosur
	Spain stressed the importance of the EU's strategic relationship with the Mercosur countries. The presidency said they would strengthen work with a view to the EU/Mercosur meeting in May.

Iraq

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what involvement the UK Government had in the drafting of Order 81, issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, which prohibits the saving of seed by Iraqi farmers.

Bill Rammell: UK Government officials in Iraq, as members of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), and other officials in the UK were consulted and invited to comment during the drafting of CPA Order 81. The Order was the subject of consultation and co-ordination with the Iraqi Governing Council, and was consistent with the needs identified by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the development of Iraq and its transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy.
	The provisions of CPA Order 81 concern the registration and protection of intellectual property rights in new plant varieties. The Order should not affect the ability of Iraqi farmers to save seeds from traditional sources. Any restrictions would relate only to patented biotech inventions or protected plant varieties. This is the normal effect of introducing such an intellectual property law. To secure protection, plant varieties would have needed to have been shown to be new, distinct from other varieties in common knowledge, uniform and stable. Farmers will have a choice of sources for their seed supply: they may choose to continue using current sources, such as saving their own seeds of traditional and unprotected varieties, or may choose to buy seeds which are subject to patent or plant variety rights protection.
	The implementation, application and interpretation of all CPA orders is now a matter for the Iraqis. The newly elected Transitional National Assembly, together with the Iraqi Transitional Government, have the power to overturn or rewrite any existing CPA Orders that they feel do not address the needs and rights of the Iraqi people.

Kazakhstan

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place between the UK and Kazakhstan regarding the proposed autumn 2005 closure of Almaty airport to international arrivals into Kazakhstan and the diversion of all international flights to Astana; and what assessment has been made of the effect of this change on UK-Kazakhstan (a) bilateral relations and (b) trade.

Bill Rammell: Discussions are ongoing with the Kazakhstan authorities but the Government have made clear their opposition to their proposals for Astana to become the sole point of entry for international flights from certain European countries. The Government are discussing with UK airlines, and with other European countries, what the implications of this might be for future aviation links with Kazakhstan. We are also discussing the possible wider implications with British businesses.

Kyrgyzstan

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made by his Department of the prospects for free and fair elections in Kyrgyzstan on 27 February; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: President Akaev and his Government have declared their commitment to holding fair and transparent elections in line with fundamental human rights. We have welcomed this commitment and we have been supporting efforts to fulfil it—bilaterally and through the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the EU. These elections are an opportunity for Kyrgyzstan to demonstrate that they are leading the way towards democracy in Central Asia. However, several NGOs have raised concerns about the conduct of these elections including on the freedom of the media and freedom of expression. The international community will keenly await the findings of the OSCE/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Election Observation Mission and others who have been present in Kyrgyzstan over the election period.

Nepal

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what types of assistance have been given to the global conflict prevention pool since its inception in 2001 for the specific purpose of tackling the causes of the conflict in Nepal; if his Department will continue assistance to foster a democratic Nepalese state following the actions of King Gyanendra since 1 February 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The global conflict pool has funded many activities aimed at tackling the underlying causes of conflict in Nepal. These causes include poverty, social injustice, corruption and human rights violations. We have funded the following activities to address them:
	Rural infrastructure programmes 2002–03
	Food support to communities in Maoist areas 2003–04
	Support for civilian human rights initiatives 2003–04
	Police reform 2003–04
	Human rights advisor 2003–04
	Assistance to the ICRC programme 2004–05
	Support to the Government peace unit 2004–05
	Political and conflict analysis 2004–05
	My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence (Mr. Ingram) notified Parliament of the withdrawal of our proposed package of military assistance to Nepal on 21 February 2005, Official Report, columns 252–53W. In his reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Clare Short) on Nepal he stated:
	In light of the recent events in Nepal, the Government has decided to withdraw the minute relating to the gift of military equipment rending a full review of our policy with regard to the provision of military assistance and equipment to Nepal".
	We remain deeply concerned by the King's assumption of power on 1 February 2005. Such is the level of our concern that on 14 February the Foreign Secretary temporarily recalled our ambassador in Nepal for consultations. We will continue to work to secure a peaceful, durable and democratic resolution to the conflict. I have already made a statement calling for the immediate restitution of multi-party democracy. A copy of my statement is available on the FCO website www.fco.gov.uk/policy/news/press-releases.

Nepal

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will halt the provision of military equipment and training to the Government of Nepal following recent actions by King Gyanendra; what assessment he has made of reports of human rights abuses by the Nepali security forces; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The UK is deeply concerned by the King's assumption of power in Nepal on 1 February. Through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development, we have been providing non-lethal military assistance to Nepal including training and equipment to help enhance bomb disposal efforts and intelligence gathering capabilities, and to increase the accuracy of the army's legitimate counter insurgency operations.
	On 14 February my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary recalled our Ambassador in Nepal to London for consultations. Following those consultations with our Ambassador and other key international partners we decided to withdraw the proposal, laid before Parliament in a minute of 20 January 2005, for a further tranche of military assistance to Nepal. I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence gave her on 21 February 2005, Official Report, columns 252–53W.
	We are deeply troubled by numerous credible reports of severe human rights violations by the Maoists and the Nepalese security forces. We have regularly criticised Nepal's poor human rights record. We have also funded projects working with the armed forces and the police to improve their understanding and respect for human rights. When I visited in Nepal in November 2004 Iunderlined the strong importance the UK attaches to human rights with all my interlocutors, including the King.

Student Visas

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost of processing an international student visa was in the last year for which figures are available.

Chris Mullin: Visa fees are set at a level to ensure that the full cost of providing the world-wide entry clearance service is met entirely from fee income and that no part of the cost is met by the UK taxpayer. Since 1 July 2002, the student visa fee has been £36, which is considerably below the cost of processing. The levels of all visa fees are currently under review to ensure that the full cost of the visa service is being met.

Student Visas

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of international visas issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office were student visas in the last year for which figures are available.

Chris Mullin: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued 1,836,362 visas in the year from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004. Of these, 146,736 were issued to students. This is approximately 8 per cent. of the total of visas issued.
	Figures for April 2004-March 2005 are not yet available. When they are, they can be found, along with further entry clearance statistics, on the UK visas website at www.ukvisas.gov.uk-Entry Clearance: Facts and Figures".

Sudan

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps (a) the UK and (b) the UN are taking to assist the reform of Sudanese criminal law to bring it into line with international human rights and humanitarian law.

Chris Mullin: Under the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Sudanese Government have committed itself to complying fully with international human rights treaties. The CPA sets out rights and freedoms to be enjoyed under Sudanese law, including the rights to fair trial and equality before the law. The UK plans to play a leading role supporting reform of the Sudanese justice sector. We have committed £7.2 million for a programme which will include training for police and the establishment of key commissions to support the implementation of the Peace Agreement. We are also funding programmes through the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Christian Aid and the Sudanese Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) to support legal aid training and to raise awareness of human rights standards.
	The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is leading the UN's effort to strengthen the rule of law in Sudan. They are focusing on training and capacity building. The UK has provided funds for UNDP to appoint two legal experts to work on legal reconstruction and reform, and to co-ordinate donor support in this area. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) is also implementing programmes for the promotion and protection of human rights in the administration of justice. It is important to seize the opportunities offered by the CPA to make progress on human rights in Sudan.

Sudan

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps (a) the UK and (b) the UN is taking to ensure that the Sudanese Government adheres to its obligations under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Chris Mullin: We have made clear our commitment to helping the parties implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed on 9 January 2005, in Nairobi.
	We regularly press the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army to establish the Government of National Unity and the necessary Commissions to take the CPA forward. We have also committed £100 million in humanitarian and development aid to Sudan for the coming financial year, and supported signature of the EU's Country Strategy Paper, which unlocks a progressive release of funds to Sudan based on successful implementation of the Agreement.
	The UN Security Council is currently discussing a draft resolution, which includes plans for a UN Peace Support Operation (PSO) of up to 11,000 personnel to south Sudan. The PSO will monitor compliance with the terms of the CPA and will include a number of civilian experts to assist the parties in implementing the agreement.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the chances for future stability in Uganda, with particular reference to the recent statement on the issue by British High Commissioner Mr. Adam Wood.

Chris Mullin: Given Uganda's past experience, it is crucial that the current process of constitutional change is widely perceived as legitimate, and carries the confidence of the Ugandan people and Parliament. We have urged that Parliament should be given the opportunity to vote on proposed amendments individually and in the spirit of constitutional provisions for change.

Uganda

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the visit to Uganda by the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and (b) the level of support by President Museveni for the Iranian nuclear programme.

Chris Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr.Hancock) today (UIN 218287).

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the visit to North Korea by the Ugandan Defence Minister Mr. Amama Mbabazi and (b) the extent of Ugandan support for North Korea's nuclear programme.

Chris Mullin: The Defence Minister may have been exploring military procurement. We have helped Uganda undertake a comprehensive defence review. We are now concerned that all Uganda's defence spending—including its classified budget—should reflect the priorities identified in that review.
	We do not consider that Uganda can offer significant support on nuclear issues.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the visit to Uganda by the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and (b) the extent of Uganda's support for the Iranian nuclear programme.

Chris Mullin: The two Presidents, in their public statements, discussed Iranian investment in Uganda. Inward investment is important to Uganda. It needs to be based on sustainable financial arrangements that benefit the economy. We do not consider Uganda has significant support to offer on nuclear issues.

Zimbabwe

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to dissuade African countries from supporting President Mugabe's land reform policies in Zimbabwe.

Chris Mullin: We want to see the return of democracy, prosperity and the rule of law in Zimbabwe and are working with our international partners to that end. In this context we have raised, and continue to raise, Mugabe's disastrous land reform policies with other African countries.

WORK AND PENSIONS

APW Pension Scheme

David Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether pensioners who will retire after the wind-up of the APW pension scheme will qualify for the deemed buyback of guaranteed minimum pensions and have these benefits backdated to the date at which they retired at age 65.

Malcolm Wicks: Pensioners who retire after the wind-up of the APW Pension scheme may qualify for deemed buyback, providing the amount of scheme rights that are available in respect of the member (the Actual Transfer Value) is less than the amount required to restore State Scheme rights to the level they would have been had the member never been contracted-out (the Technical Amount).
	For those who qualify and opt for deemed buyback the state pension will be uprated from the effective date" (as defined in regulation 1(2) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) (Amount Required for Restoring State Scheme Rights and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1397). The effective date" is the date that the Secretary of State determines, for the purposes of Deemed Buyback, the extent to which the resources of the pension scheme are insufficient to meet the liability for the cash equivalent of the member's rights under the scheme.

Benefit Overpayments

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received in response to proposals to change the rules relating to overpayments of benefit resulting from changes in circumstances which have been reported to his Department but have not been acted upon.

Chris Pond: Where there has been a full and correct disclosure of changes of circumstances, overpayments arising as a result of the Department failing to action a reported change are not recoverable under social security legislation.
	We have no plans to change the rules relating to such overpayments.

Congestion Charge

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme.

Maria Eagle: Where a congestion charge is incurred in the course of official business, the Department meets this cost. The information on cost is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department incurs no costs relating to penalty charge notices incurred by civil servants.
	For information on congestion charges and penalty charges incurred by vehicles provided to Departments by the Government Car and Despatch Agency I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr.Milburn) on 28 February 2005, Official Report, column 957W.

Council Tax Benefit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) savings limit and (b) disregards in the assessment of council tax benefit have been since 2001; and what assessment he has made of the financial consequences of introducing assessments of savings based on those used in pension credit.

Chris Pond: Prior to April 2001 the lower capital limit was £3,000 and the upper capital limit was £16,000 for all client groups. From April 2001 the lower capital limit for pensioners was raised to £6,000. From April 2006 the lower capital limit for working age people will be raised to £6,000 to bring it into line with that of pensioners. With the introduction of pension credit in October 2003 the amount of notional income that is assumed from capital, for pensioners has been halved from £1 in every £250 over the lower limit to £1 in every £500; there is no upper capital limit for those pensioners receiving the guarantee credit element of pension credit.
	If the savings rules for council tax benefit were changed to match those in pension credit, there would be some 160,000 additional beneficiaries at an estimated cost of £65 million.
	Notes:
	1.Beneficiaries are rounded to the nearest 10 thousand, costs to the nearest £5 million. 2.Each beneficiary represents a benefit unit, which can be a single claimant or a couple. 3.The impact is estimated using the DWP Policy Simulation Model for 2005–06. 4.This model is based on the 2002–03 Family Resources Survey data, up-rated to 2004–05 prices, benefit rates and earnings levels, and is calibrated to latest published forecasts and policies.

Departmental Policies

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to North-West Leicestershire constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on North-West Leicestershire constituency.

Jane Kennedy: We have undertaken a fundamental overhaul of the welfare system, transforming it to an active system that fights poverty, creates opportunity and helps people become self-sufficient and independent.
	Since 2001, the Government have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in North West Leicestershire will have benefited from these improvements in disability rights. Similarly, families with severely disabled three and four-year old children who are unable, or virtually unable to walk will have benefited from the Government's decision to lower the minimum age entitlement to the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance from April 2001, whilst older and less well off carers have gained extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
	In 2002–03 we estimate there were around 10 million adults (22 per cent.) and 0.7 million children (5 per cent.) in Great Britain likely to be covered by the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
	The figures can be broken down to regional level which shows that 22 per cent. of adults and 7 per cent. of children in the East Midlands Region are likely to be covered by the provisions of the DDA.
	Information on the numbers of customers in North West Leicestershire who are in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA) and attendance allowance (AA) is in the table.
	
		North West Leicestershire
		
			 Operational year Number DLA/AA recipients 
		
		
			 2001 5,400 
			 2002 5,600 
			 2003 5,800 
			 2004 6,000 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and are from a 5 per cent. sample at 31 August each year.
	Source:
	DWP Information Centre.
	Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. The number of people in work is at historically high levels of over 28.5 million; in North West Leicestershire, the proportion in employment has risen to 87 per cent.
	Our New Deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over 50s and partners of unemployed people to move from benefit into work. Nationally over 1.2 million people have been helped into work by the New Deals, with over 920 in North West Leicestershire alone.
	Significant progress has been made in eradicating child poverty and the latest figures (for 2002–03) show that, in the UK, there were over half a million fewer children in relative low income than there were in 1996–97. Since 2001–02 incomes for lone parents in receipt of benefit have risen by more than prices or the cost of living. In April 2005 the child allowance rate in income support for a child up to 18-years old will have been increased by 40 per cent. since 2001–02. Child rates in income support and jobseeker's allowance are also being increased above inflation in April 2005 in line with child tax credit upratings. All of this has benefited 1,200 families in North West Leicestershire.
	We want all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement and to share fairly in the rising prosperity of the country and our first priority has been to help the poorest pensioners. The Government will be spending nearly £10 billion more in 2004–05 (in 2004–05 prices) on pensioners as a result of measures introduced since 1997, with around half going to the poorest third.
	Our reforms include the State Second Pension, which helps more future pensioners build up better pensions, especially carers. pension credit, introduced from October 2003, provides a contribution to a guaranteed minimum income for those aged 60 and over and, for the first time, those over aged 65 and over may be rewarded for savings and income. As of December 2004, around 3,495 pensioners in North West Leicestershire are receiving pension credit, with an average award of £36.33 per week.
	We know that older people are disproportionately affected by fuel poverty. This winter (2004–05) we have again made available a winter fuel payment of £200 for each eligible household with someone aged 60 or over and £300 to those with someone aged 80 or over to help with their fuel bills. Additionally, for this year, eligible households with someone aged 70 or over will receive the one-off 70 plus payment of £100 to help with living expenses including council tax bills. It is paid with the winter fuel payment.
	The constituency data on winter fuel payments and the additional 80+ annual payment is available in the Library.
	Since 1997 single pensioners and pensioner couples have seen a real terms increase in their Basic State Pension of 7 per cent. and 8 per cent., respectively. Some 16,400 pensioners in North West Leicestershire have benefited from this increase.

Departmental Policies

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Clwyd, south constituency, the effect on the constituency of policies pursued by his Department at the Council of Ministers; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 31 January 2005, Official Report, columns 605–07W. Promoting work and social inclusion are also at the heart of this Department's policy towards business in the Employment and Social Policy Council. These policies apply to the whole of the United Kingdom and it is not possible to distinguish the effect on a particular constituency.

Departmental Policies

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon, Central constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on the Croydon, Central constituency.

Jane Kennedy: We have undertaken a fundamental overhaul of the welfare system, transforming it to an active system that fights poverty, creates opportunity and helps people become self-sufficient and independent.
	Since 2001, the Government have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in Croydon, Central will have benefited from these improvements in disability rights. Similarly, families with severely disabled 3 and 4-year-old children who are unable, or virtually unable to walk will have benefited from the Governments decision to lower the minimum age entitlement to the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance from April 2001, while older and less well off carers have gained extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
	In 2002–03 we estimate there were around 10 million adults (22 per cent.) and 0.7 million children (5 per cent.) in Great Britain likely to be covered by the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
	The figures can be broken down to regional level which shows that 18 per cent. of adults and 4 per cent. of children in the London area are likely to be covered by the provisions of the DDA.
	Information on the numbers of customers in Croydon, Central who are in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA) and attendance allowance (AA) is in the table.
	
		Croydon, Central
		
			 Operational year DLA/AA recipients 
		
		
			 2001 4,600 
			 2002 4,600 
			 2003 5,000 
			 2004 5,600 
		
	
	Source:
	DWP Information Centre. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and are from a 5 per cent. sample at 31 August each year.
	Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. The number of people in work is at historically high levels of over 28.5 million; though in Croydon, Central the proportion in employment has reduced by 1.5 points since 1997 to 77.6 per cent.
	Our new deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over 50s and partners of unemployed people to move from benefit into work. Nationally over 1.2 million people have been helped into work by the new deals, with 2,630 in Croydon, Central alone.
	Significant progress has been made in eradicating child poverty and the latest figures (for 2002–03) show that, in the UK, there were over half a million fewer children in relative low income than there were in 1996–97. Since 2001–02 incomes for lone parents in receipt of benefit have risen by more than prices or the cost of living. In April 2005 the child allowance rate in income support for a child up to 18-years-old will have been increased by 40 per cent. since 2001–02. Child rates in income support and jobseeker's allowance are also being increased above inflation in April 2005 in line with child tax credit upratings. All of this has benefited 3,600 families in Croydon, Central.
	We want all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement and to share fairly in the rising prosperity of the country and our first priority has been to help the poorest pensioners. The Government will be spending nearly £10 billion more in 2004–05 (in 2004–05 prices) on pensioners as a result of measures introduced since 1997, with around half going to the poorest third.
	Our reforms include the state second pension, which helps more future pensioners build up better pensions, especially carers. Pension credit, introduced from October 2003, provides a contribution to a guaranteed minimum income for those aged 60 and over and, for the first time, those over aged 65 and over may be rewarded for savings and income. As of December 2004, around 3,815 pensioners in Croydon, Central are receiving pension credit, with an average award of £48.69 per week.
	We know that older people are disproportionately affected by fuel poverty. This winter (2004–05) we have again made available a winter fuel payment of £200 for each eligible household with someone aged 60 or over and £300 to those with someone aged 80 or over to help with their fuel bills. Additionally, for this year, eligible households with someone aged 70 or over will receive the one-off 70+ payment of £100 to help with living expenses including council tax bills. It is paid with the winter fuel payment.
	The constituency data on winter fuel payments and the additional 80+ annual payment is available in the Library.
	Since 1997 single pensioners and pensioner couples have seen a real terms increase in their basic state pension of 7 per cent. and 8 per cent., respectively. Some 16,600 pensioners in Croydon, Central have benefited from this increase.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent by his Department on (a) new furniture and (b) hired furniture in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: DWP was formed in June 2001 from the former Department of Social Security (DSS) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment, including the Employment Service (ES). Information on the cost of purchasing new furniture is in the table.
	
		DWP purchases of furniture and fittings
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 7,335,000 
			 1998–99 14,341,000 
			 1999–2000 1,239,000 
			 2000–01 636,000 
			 2001–02 11,373,000 
			 2002–03 3,780,000 
			 2003–04 1,398,000 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures for the period prior to June 2001 refer to the former DSS and ES.
	DSS entered into a 20-year PFI Partnership Agreement from 1 April 1998 for the provision of fully serviced accommodation for the former DSS estate. The agreement included the hire of furniture, the cost of which is not separately identifiable. During 2003–04, the agreement was extended to cover all Jobcentre Plus properties.
	All expenditure incurred in the purchase and procurement of services and items is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government accounting.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his oral statement of 22 February 2005, on the Financial Assistance Scheme, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of the guarantee to workers within three years of retirement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 February 2005
	As made clear in the statement, on 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 16WS, firm estimates of the extent of individual losses, and of costs overall and in individual years, can only be made once the pension schemes concerned have applied for FAS assistance and completed or are close to completing wind-up, so it is much too early in the setting up of the FAS to have a firm estimate of the annual cost of the assistance.

Growth Areas (Funding)

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Workand Pensions what funding his Department has earmarked for growth areas to ensure that they have the resources required to meet the demands of a growing population.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pension's major expenditure (around £100 billion in 2005–06) is on benefits and pensions which are determined by a combination of need and entitlement conditions. Application of these factors will ensure that where appropriate our expenditure meets the demands of a growing population. The Department does not have any resource specifically earmarked for growth areas.

Job Vacancies

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how information on job vacancies is provided to the public other than through Jobcentres; and what the cost is of each such method.

Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 3 March 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question 'how information on job vacancies is provided to the public other than through Jobcentres; and what the cost is of each such method'. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Information about vacancies is provided through four different channels in addition to Jobcentres. Jobseeker Direct, a telephone service operated through Jobcentre Plus contact centres which customers can access from home or through a dedicated phone. The annual cost for this service is £11.8 million.
	A network of 68 jobpoints located in libraries, supermarkets and community centres provides access to vacancy information outside the Jobcentre network and cost £0.3 million. We are introducing access to vacancy information via touch screen kiosks provided by our partners (mainly local authorities). This costs £0.03 million per annum.
	The Jobcentre Plus and Worktrain websites provide internet access to vacancy information and in total the service costs £2.3 million to operate both sites.
	I hope this is helpful.

Pension Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the take-up rate of the savings credit element of the pension credit; and how much savings credits remains unclaimed.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 28 February 2005
	National statistics on take-up of major DWP benefits are published annually by the Department in Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up". These are based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS) for the relevant year and take account of both entitled non-recipients and non-entitled recipients. However, they are published significantly in arrears and the 2004–05 statistics will not be available for some time.
	Take-up for private households entitled to the savings element of pension credit is of the order of 60 per cent. This figure does not include those in residential care or nursing homes. It is derived by comparing administrative and survey sources, which are not directly comparable. No meaningful robust figures for the savings element unclaimed can be derived in this way. Indeed any take-up figure derived this way is indicative only.

Pensions Act 1995

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals have been able to exercise their right to deemed buy back under the Pensions Act 1995.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 2 March 2005
	It has been established that, of the schemes that have approached the Inland Revenue so far, there are currently around 800 members of underfunded contracted-out pension schemes in wind-up who have had the opportunity to exercise their right to deemed buyback. However, deemed buyback is only one of a number of options available to a member for securing their accrued rights (for example they could transfer their rights to another scheme). The final decision on which option to use is taken by the member, not the scheme.

Personal Advisers

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal advisers will be employed within Jobcentre Plus as part of the roll out of the Pathways to Work programme in the financial years (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07.

Maria Eagle: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Jeremy Groombridge to Mr. Paul Goodman dated 3 March 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked David Anderson to reply to your question concerning the number of Personal Advisers employed within Jobcentre Plus as part of the roll out of the Pathways to Work Programme in the financial years 2005–06 and 2006–07. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to him as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. I am replying on his behalf as one of the Directors of the Jobcentre Plus Board.
	In answer to your specific question, the estimated number of Personal Advisers who will be employed in 2005/06 is 359, increasing to 467 in 2006/07.
	I would add that the number of Personal Advisers who will be employed as part of the Pathways to Work Programme is subject to change. Our current estimate of the number of additional Persona! Advisers has been determined by the latest version of the Costing Model. This Model determines the number of Personal Advisers, and other staff, required to undertake the additional Pathways activity and allocates resources accordingly. The Costing Model continues to be developed and consequently any changes that are made may potentially alter the estimate of the number of Personal Advisers required, I hope this is helpful.

Prescribed Disease A11

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects that the change to the terms of prescription of prescribed disease A11 will be put in place.

Jane Kennedy: The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council published its report on Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome in July 2004. The principal recommendation was that the terms of prescription for PD A11 (vibration white finger) be extended to include sensorineural symptoms, in addition to the existing vascular symptoms.
	The regulatory changes required to implement the recommendations relating to Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome are currently being worked on. It is intended that the new regulations will come into force in summer 2005.

Private Pensions

David Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will review the information in booklets and leaflets issued by (a) his Department, (b) the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority and (c) the Financial Services Authority regarding the security of private pensions.

Malcolm Wicks: We recognise the need to keep leaflets and other material up to date, but the Department does not offer financial advice and cannot assume responsibility for doing so. The Department and the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority regularly review the information in their general booklets and leaflets and provide whatever helpful general information they can.
	The Financial Services Authority does not have responsibility for the rights of members of occupational pensions schemes but does provide basic information for consumers on these schemes through its consumer publications. This information is general and does not constitute financial advice. The FSA regularly reviews and updates its consumer publications.